Posted on Jul 10, 2016
Do you personally know a police officer who arrested someone because of race? If so, what happened?
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Curious if anyone has witnessed race being the primary reason someone was unjustly detained or arrested. I have witnessed people getting arrested in many situations, but typically it involves the person breaking the law and then doubling down by being disrespectful and in general a jerk.
Police
Politics
Government
Ethnicity
Racism
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 67
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My brother was harassed by a cop (black cop). After several incidents he told the cop he was going to the police station to file a complaint. When he and his friend arrived at the station they were separated and beaten by cops (white cops). Each officer emptied there mace in him. When my brother arrived at the hospital the doctors had to put on protective gear due to the amount of mace used on my brother before they could operate on him. This was before social media and cell phone cameras. The news station would not report it nor would a lawyer take his case. I grew up in MS and this was not rare occurrences. I was in my early 20s when a cop pulled me over and thus one particular time I really didn't know why do I asked. His response was suspicious diving. The look on my face my said it all, but I only responded okay. He asked me to get out the car patted me down and did a quick search of my vehicle. Things like this had happened to several men in my family growing up in the south.
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LTC (Join to see)
SMSgt Evans, based on your personal experience, I would have to conclude that race was a factor. I've never been asked to exit the vehicle so I could get patted down or have my vehicle searched. I think that a big difference is how you handled it though. You addressed the officer calmly and with respect which kept things from getting stupid.
Having cops in the family, I have not heard of or witnessed any action that was taken due to race, I will say, however, that it doesn't take long before a cop becomes jaded and has the potential to believe everyone is guilty until proven innocent.
Having cops in the family, I have not heard of or witnessed any action that was taken due to race, I will say, however, that it doesn't take long before a cop becomes jaded and has the potential to believe everyone is guilty until proven innocent.
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SPC Randy Torgerson
LTC (Join to see) - Ok nothing is 100%, but the vast majority of what appears racial decision making is really due to attitude. Also here is a good article which cites its sources. http://www.dailywire.com/news/7347/7-statistics-show-systemic-racism-doesnt-exist-aaron-bandler#
7 Statistics That Show That 'Systemic Racism' Doesn't Exist In Policing
Despite leftists like Kim Kardashian whining about "systemic racism" in policing,statistics reveal that "systemic racism" in policing simply does not exist. Here are seven statsproving this point. 1. Police are more likely to shoot whites than blacks.
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LTC (Join to see)
Randy: I don't disagree with you, and I know the statistics (read my full response in the fact that I am from a family of cops). However, based on Eric's comments/experiences, he handled his personal situation(s) in the same manner as I would/have, yet he was asked to exit his vehicle, was frisked, and had his vehicle searched. Based on his, SMSgt Eric Evans' personal experience, I would have to say there is at least "profiling" going on. Your article doesn't address why it would be necessary to frisk and search a black man for "suspicious driving" but not a white man who committed a moving violation (speeding).
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SPC Randy Torgerson
LTC (Join to see) - Sure, if a cop doesn't profile he better get off the streets. Lets not be politically correct, lets be correct. You don't profile, your dead. Putting that to the side for a moment, lets use common sense to start out with, is it possible while some of the circumstances were the same that there are things being left out of his story that we are unaware of?
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New York City's stop and frisk policies targeted minorities. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/opinion/policing-the-police-on-stop-and-frisk.html It's pretty rare that there is any recourse against an illegal search and seizure for a person not charged with a crime, because the Supreme Court has crafted the exclusionary rule as the primary recourse, and that helps only charged people exclude evidence at trial. So if the police stop you unconstitutionally, and then just let you go, your rights have been violated, but there's really nothing you can do. It's pretty rare that a police officer will say "I arrested this person because he is black." The process is far more insidious than that. The police tend to arrest people they think have committed a crime. So the minorities arrested have committed a crime, typically. So the easy answer to your questions is: "No." However, respectfully, your question is naively phrased. Because when you're looking for those crimes and criminals exclusively or almost exclusively among the black and minority population, as with the NYC stop and frisk, well that's a problem.
Policing the Police on Stop-and-Frisk
A court-appointed monitor is overseeing changes to ensure that the police have good reason to stop citizens, and that minorities are not targeted.
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SPC Randy Torgerson
I will be the first to say, I absolutely disagree with NY stop and frisk. I 100% think its unconstitutional and wrong.
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yes I do as a former BIA officer and DOC officer I have dealt with the bullshit personally
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I've been accused of many things and ticketed unjustly, but not arrested probably because I know I cant talk my way out of predejices. How ever HPD has labeled me as a gang member, after I was stopped for walking down the side walk with two of my cousins.
Once while I was picking a buddy up from work, the police approached guns drawn, and detained me for hours claiming I was attempting to break into cars, they let me go with a ticket for "threat by conversation".
Once I was parked at a restaurant preparing to get out of my car and a white guy back into my parked car. I called the police and they gave me a ticket for hitting him, resulting in myour insurance having to pay for the damages to the other guys cars.
My earliest memory of the police was around 4or5. The knocked on my door and wanted to detain me for knocking down a fence I clearly at that age couldn't knock down.
So no they have never verbally said it was because I was black the manner they spoke and treated me clearly said it. During the ages between 15 and joining the Army I was stopped 2-4 times every week.
Once while I was picking a buddy up from work, the police approached guns drawn, and detained me for hours claiming I was attempting to break into cars, they let me go with a ticket for "threat by conversation".
Once I was parked at a restaurant preparing to get out of my car and a white guy back into my parked car. I called the police and they gave me a ticket for hitting him, resulting in myour insurance having to pay for the damages to the other guys cars.
My earliest memory of the police was around 4or5. The knocked on my door and wanted to detain me for knocking down a fence I clearly at that age couldn't knock down.
So no they have never verbally said it was because I was black the manner they spoke and treated me clearly said it. During the ages between 15 and joining the Army I was stopped 2-4 times every week.
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I was pulled over at 2 a.m. in West Anniston, Alabama by a black police officer and asked what's a a white boy doing in this neighborhood so late at night. I explained I worked down the road and was just finishing my shift, showed him my DOD badge to prove it and went about my business. Never thought twice about it, he has to answer to for that on judgement day not me.
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MSgt Walter Thomason
I suspect he thought you were there for buying drugs. I can't tell you how many times a White person came up to me and asked me if I had any drugs for sale. I know at least twice in Florida. I used to date this girl that lived in "the hood" in Melbourne. I used to think, "Dang the only reason I come around here is to see her, and these fools come to buy drugs from someone they don't know. Wasn't too long the police set up an operation to catch them. It may have stopped some but people still came into the hood to buy.
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SPC Randy Torgerson
I don't get it.... assuming for a moment that there was no other reason to pull over SGT Blackburn, which I know the officer had a reason truth or not, at 2 am something was unusual about SGT Blackburn's vehicle. What is wrong with checking things out? It was a short inconvenience I guess, but at 2 am I doubt the officer knew he was white...
SGT Blackburn did NOT say he was pulled over multiple times by any officers.... So what does he have to answer for on judgement day? Sounds like the officer was trying hard to keep the area safer..
SGT Blackburn did NOT say he was pulled over multiple times by any officers.... So what does he have to answer for on judgement day? Sounds like the officer was trying hard to keep the area safer..
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SGT (Join to see)
Did you read what I wrote at all? He specifically asked "Whats a WHITE boy doing in this neighborhood so late at night" After I proved i was coming from my job he IMMEDIATELY gave me back my ID and let me go. No other reason for pulling me over was mentioned. I was driving a basic dodge ram pickup truck with no additions or adornments. No lights out, no expired tag, no window tint, no music playing, no speeding, no traffic lights ran, NOTHING to be pulled over for except that I was white in a black community late at night. I was pulled over numerous times in this same section of the city and immediately let go after justifying why I was there. This time just happen to be unique because it was verbalized that i was pulled over for being white in a black community.
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SPC Randy Torgerson
SGT (Join to see) - Don't make me the ass here. Did you read what you wrote? You indicated one time being pulled over, not several times. People are so damn caught up in a few words spoken. I was a white cop working in black neighborhoods at least half my time. I often called a white boy a white boy, so what? Am I raciest? At 2am if I saw a white person in the neighborhood I would be a little suspicious too. But I would always have a good reason to pull someone over or I didn't pull them over. Did I always tell the person why I pulled them over? No I did not. If they asked, I always told them, but half the time they didn't ask.
You act as though there is no correlation between what makes a cop suspicious and what really happens...... profiling a situation is the biggest tool law enforcement has. You want to know why I didn't always say why I pulled someone over? Lets say I suspect you are dealing drug or buying drugs, I pull you over for a tail light out but I don't find anything or see anything that continues my suspicion... I don't want to tell you about your tail light because I don't want you to fix it. The next time you come through here you might have drugs and now I can pull you over "again" for a taillight out. Thats just good detective work. Thats not harassment. You have a taillight out, not my fault, its your fault. Not my job to give you a car inspection and report my findings to you. Depending on the area crime rate and objective for the community, arresting drug dealers might be more important than writing a ticket for a taillight out. Its not about trying to harass you or anyone, its about keeping drugs out of children's hands and keeping people alive. Sorry for you inconvenience sir.
You act as though there is no correlation between what makes a cop suspicious and what really happens...... profiling a situation is the biggest tool law enforcement has. You want to know why I didn't always say why I pulled someone over? Lets say I suspect you are dealing drug or buying drugs, I pull you over for a tail light out but I don't find anything or see anything that continues my suspicion... I don't want to tell you about your tail light because I don't want you to fix it. The next time you come through here you might have drugs and now I can pull you over "again" for a taillight out. Thats just good detective work. Thats not harassment. You have a taillight out, not my fault, its your fault. Not my job to give you a car inspection and report my findings to you. Depending on the area crime rate and objective for the community, arresting drug dealers might be more important than writing a ticket for a taillight out. Its not about trying to harass you or anyone, its about keeping drugs out of children's hands and keeping people alive. Sorry for you inconvenience sir.
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75% of all illicit drug users in the US are white but they don't make up 75% of the prison population for drug offenses. A study found that a black male was 3 times more likely to be pulled over by the police but the white male was 4 times more likely to have drugs on them. Seems to me that the wrong portion of the population is being targeted.
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SPC (Join to see)
Spc Randy Torgerson your numbers are wrong. I have researched this topic and know what I am saying.
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SPC (Join to see)
White America Does The Crime, Black America Gets The Time
White Americans are more likely than black Americans to have used most kinds of illegal drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and LSD. Yet blacks are far m...
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SPC Randy Torgerson
SPC (Join to see) - How are my numbers wrong? I gave you actual statics based on a government study and I gave you the title of that study so you can read it. What do you have showing your information?
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SPC Randy Torgerson
SPC (Join to see) - The Huffinton Post!!!!! are you serious? You believe what you want and nobody will change your mind. A liberal agenda driven news article will not hold up to a United States Government study. Good luck with that. And again, thats why we are all having this problem, because thats your source of information.
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Arrested, no. Stopped and detained for no apparent reason? Yes. I've witnessed it going both ways . . . white officers seemingly targeting blacks, and blacks seemingly targeting whites. (I'm including Hispanics in the white category for purpose of this poll)
The situation when I believe the black officer (an MP) targeted the Hispanic (an Army NCO) happened at Fort Bragg. I didn't understand what I witnessed, and to this day consider the confrontation as one of the most disgraceful and non-professional displays by two soldiers I've seen.
The situation when I believe the black officer (an MP) targeted the Hispanic (an Army NCO) happened at Fort Bragg. I didn't understand what I witnessed, and to this day consider the confrontation as one of the most disgraceful and non-professional displays by two soldiers I've seen.
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During some of the Alabama Hurricanes I was called out as an activated guardsman. In the week or so I was on hurricane duty, I would ride with the State Patrol and assist in whatever capacity was needed. Since I spent a lot of time with the same officer we exchanged stories. He never said that he arrested anyone based on race, but stated that in the past, when he had to make his "contact hours" with the public he would frequent an all black area around Mobile. Said he could make his quota of "contact hours" in a night or two there.
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I was called Serpico and left the country in 98. Please look into the Rampart scandal!
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SPC Randy Torgerson
Do you know what the Rampart scandal was about? It was not racism. It was about black, white and hispanic cops planting evidence on gang members mostly. In fact the worst cop that was convicted, was hispanic and originally declined by the hiring committee at LAPD but the city counsel over ruled his application denial and hired him anyway. They hired him because they wanted a more diverse police department. Instead of hiring the best candidates for the job the city counsel chose race over substance.
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CPT Pedro Meza
Planting evidence on black and latino gang members, stealing their drugs and money. The hiring of the best in minorities was modified using affirmative action to hire the lowest of the minorities because the belief that they could be controlled. I investigated all that, yes Racism was what drove all.
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