STOP-AND-FRISK...RACIAL PROFILING...AND MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. - ARE BLACKS AND OTHER MINORITIES REALLY "FREE AT LAST?" IS ANYBODY?

     Racial profiling does exist in America today.  Those of you who disagree with me and want to debate the issue are welcome to do so...but there really is no argument.  No matter what people want to call it...minority individuals - many of them young males - are getting stopped all across the United States...by sworn police officers...as well as by self-proclaimed neighborhood watch commanders...because of the color of their skin.

     On Monday, August 12th, 2013...a U.S. District Court judge made a brilliant decision...by ruling that the practice of "Stop-and-Frisk" in New York City...violates the Constitutional rights of minorities.  Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that "Stop-and-Frisk" goes against the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

     In her strongly worded ruling...Judge Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York wrote that "Targeting young black and Hispanic men...for stops based on the alleged criminal conduct of other young black or Hispanic men...violates bedrock principles of equality."  In her written opinion...Her Honor also stated that "The city's highest officials have turned a blind eye to the evidence that officers are conducting stops in a racially discriminatory manner.  In their zeal to defend a policy they believe to be effective...they have willfully ignored overwhelming proof...that the policy of targeting - 'the right people' - is racially discriminatory...and therefore...violates the United States Constitution."

     Following the historic decision by Judge Scheindlin...on Thursday, August 22nd, the New York City Council voted 34 to 15 for a bill that will give people more options to file a lawsuit against the New York Police Department if they believe they've been the victim of profiling.  The bill takes effect on November 20th, 2013 despite a strong effort from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and police unions to convince Council members to vote differently.  The new law will also expand the definition of profiling to include gender, disability and sexual orientation.  Individuals can already sue in federal court.

     A second bill - passed 39 to 10 - which was also opposed by Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD...will create the position of Inspector General...to oversee "The Big Apple's" men and women in blue...and to make non-binding recommendations to the department.  The bill takes effect on January 1st, 2014 and mandates that an Inspector General must be appointed by April 1st, 2014.   

 

   As for the "Stop-and-Frisk" ruling by Judge Scheindlin...New York City is appealing it.  Police Commissioner Ray Kelly "strongly disagrees" with the judge's decision and is furious as he blasts her significant and extraordinary opinion.  

Kelly told NBC News correspondent and moderator of Meet The Press, David Gregory on Sunday, August 18th that "The judge has indicted the entire New York City Police Department - 35,000 officers - of racial profiling... on the flimsiest of evidence."

     But if we look at the statistics...Judge Scheindlin is right on the money.  Here are the facts.  From January 2004 through June 2012...the NYPD stopped 4.4 million people for one reason or another.  Of those "stops"...6 percent were arrested...6 percent were handed summons...and 88 percent received no further law enforcement action.  But WHO...WHO...are getting targeted?  Who seem to have bull's-eyes on their backs?  The racial breakdown of the 4.4 million stops are as follows:  52 percent are black...31 percent are Hispanic... 10 percent are white...and 7 percent fall in to other categories.

     First of all...why are 88 percent of 4.4 million people - nearly 3.9 million innocent individuals - stopped...when they have not done anything wrong?   Commissioner Kelly gives an answer of "reasonable suspicion."  Are you kidding me?  Close to 4 million people are thought to be "suspicious" of committing a crime...when they are completely innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever?  It is beyond ridiculous to think that all of those people are suspected of maybe...maybe doing something that is illegal.  To put millions and millions of innocent people through the agony...the stress...the time...and let's not forget the the cost involved to pay an attorney...or attorneys...when they have done nothing against the law...is a travesty and an insult to our system of justice.  But Commissioner Kelly argues that there is a "preventive aspect."  I'm sorry, Commissioner.  I respect the position you hold and the job you and your 35,000 officers perform...and would understand 8 percent... perhaps even 18 percent...but 88 percent of all your "stops" are of people who have done nothing wrong at all...and only because the cop on the beat has what I would call - a hunch - that they are guilty of something illegal?  To stop nearly 4 million people and put them through the misery...distress...and the embarrassment of being halted by police...when they have done absolutely nothing wrong at all...come on, Commissioner...you've got to agree that's a bit far-fetched.  But then...you don't agree.

     Regular readers of The Controversy know that I have had the great pleasure of working with numerous police departments throughout my journalism career - including the New York Police Department - and I have - and still have - professional and personal relationships with law enforcement officials - some of which I have known for more than 40 years...so I have a genuinely sincere appreciation...regard...and admiration for most police officers.  That being said, however...the "Stop-and-Frisk" program - or whatever else it may be called in other cities and towns across the United States - is without question - a violation of Americans' Constitutional rights - and not just for minorities - but for every one of the more than 316 million of us who are citizens of this great country.

     Over the years - at least throughout my lifetime - I and other children were taught...that if you are troubled or scared...and you need someone to help you...and mommy or daddy are not around...you can always seek out a police officer.  Perhaps white youngsters may still be told that by their parents...and white kids may...or may not...understand that or believe that...but black and Hispanic children - based on recent events and recent statistics - do not.  
 
While Judge Scheindlin did not explicitly mention Trayvon Martin in her "Stop-and-Frisk" opinion...she did make reference to the Florida case and the racial disparities and inequalities in our criminal justice system and our systems of law enforcement.  There is no doubt...that the subject of racial profiling...has grown more intense...because of the Trayvon Martin case.  Children - and adults alike - of all races...of all colors...of all ethnic heritages - including whites - need to feel comfortable and safe to know...that when they see a police officer - as we were told many years ago in an advertising campaign - "A police officer is your friend."  All law abiding citizens - no matter who they are and no matter what color their skin is - must be able to feel the same way...that a police officer is a friend...who is there to help...and not someone who is going to be suspicious of you...when you've done nothing wrong.

     Now let me be clear.  If a policeman...or policewoman...observes genuinely suspicious behavior...where there is truly reasonable and probable cause to question a particular individual...then of course...such action must be taken.  But when we look at the numbers - as I noted earlier in this commentary - those figures don't lie...and it's obvious to me...that African-Americans and Latinos are stopped more frequently than Caucasians and other races.  And it amazes me...that Commissioner Kelly has stated that if "Stop-and-Frisk" is abandoned..."violent crime will go up."  The statistics for the New York Police Department powerfully spell out...that 83 percent of all police stops in New York City are of people who are black or Hispanic.  If that's not racial profiling...then I don't know what is.

     I have been accused by some of my readers of discussing race - from time to time - in my column.  The issue of "Stop-and-Frisk" is about more than just race.  It's about freedom.  It's about the freedoms that our Founding Fathers insisted that ALL Americans are to be equal and free.  And despite slavery in those days...it was the hope of many of our Framers...that slavery would be abolished.  Therefore...as we celebrate this week...the 50th anniversary...of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have A Dream speech...let us all remember Dr. King's closing words from that momentous day...August 28th, 1963.

     "When we allow freedom to ring...when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet...from every state and every city...we will be able to speed up that day...when ALL of God's children...black men and white men...Jews and Gentiles...Protestants and Catholics...will be able to join hands...and sing the words of the old Negro Spiritual...Free at last, free at last.  Thank God Almighty...we are free at last."

     With programs such as "Stop-and-Frisk"...nobody is completely free.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

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