‘Black Lightning’ Premiere Sneak Peek: Jefferson Pierce Gets Harassed By Police

Jefferson Pierce is harassed by the police in a sneak peek from Season 1, episode 1 of CW’s “Black Lightning.”

In the two-minute clip, Jefferson (Cress Williams) — who is with his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) — is pulled over by two white police officers for no apparent reason. Anissa and Jennifer start to panic, but their dad tells them to stay calm and let him handle the situation.

Jefferson introduces himself to the older policeman, but the officer doesn’t seem to care and orders him to step out of the car. When he does, the officer quickly cuffs him, much to his daughters’ shock. Jennifer tries to get out the car to help her dad, but a younger police officer points his gun at her.

Anissa is recording the incident with her phone, but she’s forced to stop when the younger officer tells her to put her hands on the dashboard. The older officer takes Jefferson to a lady sitting inside the police car. “Is this the guy?” the policeman asks the woman. When the lady shakes her head, the officer casually uncuffs Jefferson as if nothing has happened.

Jefferson demands the officer to explain, the officer says, “Her liquor store just got robbed.” Triggered by the officer’s lame explanation, Jefferson angrily says, “I’m sure the description is what? A black man, in a suit and tie? Getaway car, a midsize Volvo wagon?”

For some reason, the officer finds Jefferson’s outbursts funny. After giving the school principal a smirk, the officer walks away, saying, “Have a good night, sir.” The officer’s behavior makes Jefferson too furious that electricity-powered objects around them start to malfunction.

The chilling scene is inspired by the real-life experience of series co-creator Sam Akil. “I had been stopped by the police quite a few times, but my anger in being stopped again was about to get me killed,” Akil revealed to The New York Times. “I stopped putting on the mask of, this is how I’m supposed to act in these situations. At a certain point, I closed my eyes and took a moment. And I asked myself, is this really worth dying for?”

While topics of race relations and police brutality will be greatly explored on the series, Akil previously told Entertainment Weekly that the show is an “American story … not a black story.” “We’re going to be culturally specific, but universal in our themes so everyone can see themselves in these stories,” he said.

“Black Lightning” premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. EST on The CW.