Call Me When A Civil Rights Group Gives the Award.
By Jim Conley • Aug 14th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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So the Brookline Police won an “international award” for its racial profiling prevention strategies over the past ten years. The award is given by an association of police chiefs. Oh yeah, just the people you want evaluating racial enforcement practices. (It’s not like their firefighters, you know.)
I guess its significant to the town hall team that the number of moving violations involving African Americans has remained steady [see report] at roughly 10 percent of total stops. So, after ten years, why hasn’t the number of stops gone down?
“Driving while Black” always been the issue with race and the Brookline Police.
Remember, African Americans account for less than 3 percent of the Brookline population. So why is it that they account for three times their population in traffic stops and 26 percent of arrests? Add data on Hispanics, and you get 50 percent of arrests among these two racial profiles.
And that’s something to be proud of?
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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“Driving while Black” always been the issue with race and the Brookline Police.”
I’m a black man, and I’m tired of that phrase. It should say:
Driving while black and speeding.
Driving while black, talking on the phone and weaving in the lanes.
How about driving while black, getting stopped by police, instantly giving them and attitude and talking rude to them while getting their much deserved ticket.
If I stand on the side of Beacon St, I notice something. I didn’t see who was driving until they were right next to me, or stopped. Hmmm….. Weird…. I’ll tell you when I did see a black operator was approaching. It was when a car went speeding by, and I felt the bass from their stereo rattle me! I don’t know anyone, especially cops, who wouldn’t look at the direction the noise was coming from. And it amazes me that when they get pulled over by police for the noise or something else, they cry its racial profiling! Weren’t they the ones who drew all of the attention?
I’m not going to say that the police are completely innocent of all racial charges. There will always be bad apples on both sides of the fence, and most from the police were from an earlier time, and are now rotting in the retirement bushel.
My people need to learn how to “Police” themselves. When that happens, we won’t be tempted to use the “Driving while Black” copout.