Although racial profiling is currently illegal in the United States, law enforcement officers still practice it on a regular basis, particularly against African-Americans and Latinos. Tyler Perry, a well-known comedic African-American actor, emphasizes the seriousness of such a problem:
After the recent media reports about the shooting of Trayvon Martin in
Florida, Tyler Perry speaks out about his experience of being a victim in a racial profiling incident. In Atlanta, two white officers had pulled Perry over for a supposed traffic violation, an “illegal turn”. The cops then began to aggressively and condescendingly interrogate his justification. During the conversation, Perry attempted to reach for his car keys, which signaled to the cops that they may be in danger. During this moment, Perry recalled his childhood when his mother told him what he should do if ever pulled over by white cops. Later on during the interrogation, an African-American cop came to the scene and recognized Perry’s fame. The African-American officer convinced the other cops to let Perry go.
“The legitimacy of law enforcement is cracked for African-Americans and Latinos,” according to Professor Musheno. African-Americans and Latinos have different initial reactions to being pulled over than Caucasians. As Caucasians believe that the cops have a legitimate purpose of pulling them over, i.e. a traffic violation, African-Americans immediately see themselves as victims of racial profiling and believe they are being pulled over because they are suspected of criminal activity. Perry’s experience illustrates an African-American’s consciousness, which is caused by the illegitimate view of law enforcement.
This illegitimate view of the cops comes from the stories that are passed down through African-American and Latino cultures and families. Since childhood, many African-Americans and Latinos hear stories of racial profiling. Parents explain to their children: “Once you start driving, your chances of being pulled over by cops are very high. The reason you will be pulled over is not for a “traffic violation”, which many officers will say; instead you will have been stopped because of your race/ethnicity and the suspicion of criminal activity based on your race/ethnicity. This is illegal. However, when they pull you over, obey their commands in order to protect yourself.” Perry explains that during his interrogation, he thought about these stories that his mother told him as a child. Perry, along with many other African-Americans and Latinos, have experienced these stories which try to prepare children for the complex realities that they will eventually face.
The media questions whether Perry’s experience can be described as “racial profiling”. Due to the fact that he was let go once recognized as “famous” by an African-American cop, I believe Perry was the victim of racial profiling. Perry’s fame was probably seen as a threat to the Atlanta police department. The cops knew that Perry recognized his experience as racial profiling. If he wanted to make his experience known, it would be easy and quick for Perry to receive media attention and thus, the cops let him go in order to protect their department from criticism.
I thought it was interesting that Tyler Perry's fame may have had some part in the police's decision to release him from this tense encounter. I'm very suprised that he had just complained about this now in the wake of the Trayvon Case. Others stars like Welsey Snipes, as it says in the reading by Harris, have also complained about racial profiling as well. If Perry would have brought this up at another time, I do not feel that the public would have apid as much attention as they are now. And If this would have happened in Eldorado, the police of that city would be looked at quite differently and loose some of their legitimacy.-Gpech
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Tyler Perry that racial profiling is a huge problem in this country. I used to think that it was limited to mostly African American citizens but after some of my own experiences with law enforcement, I'm convinced that this is a widespread problem. As I was driving down to the US from Vancouver, Canada, I was stopped by the border patrol and sent to a detention center where my car was to be inspected. I thought this was pretty normal until I stepped into the detention center and realized that everyone held inside were nonwhite. There were blacks, Asians, Latinos, and Middle Eastern people and absolutely no white people except for the officers. This would be OK except for the fact that Vancouver is pretty much populated by whites and Asians with few other races. As I looked out the window, I saw all the white families being ushered past the border without any deterrence. To me, this is pretty blatant racial profiling.
ReplyDeleteIn relationship to Eldorado, there is a large population of African Americans in neighboring Oakville, and there is a growing population of Latinos. Given these circumstances, the law enforcement agencies in Eldorado have to figure out ways to train their officers as to not utilize racial profiling.
- RW
I too think it is significant that Tyler Perry brings racial profiling into a greater public awareness in the context of Trayvon Martin's case. Though racial profiling is now illegal, it still has been a problem that is still occurring for awhile, and often times issues of racism remain silent these past few years, and something like racial profiling receives little attention among the general public. The only ones who know the issue intimately are those studying the issue or those who are involved in the issue directly (whether they be the victims or the ones racial profiling others). However, with the Trayvon Martin case in view, this has changed, and many are rising to speak out against this unjust practice.
ReplyDeleteEldorado will most likely be a place in which residents need to rise and spread awareness about racial profiling as well and speak against it. Meehan and Ponder argued that "surveillance and stopping behavior of the police is sensitive" not only to "race," but also to "place" (Meehan and Ponder, 426). Eldorado shares a border with Oakville, which is a "predominantly African American community," and the poor residents live in the neighborhoods on that border. A lot of these residents have low wage jobs in Eldorado and have to travel into Eldorado to work. Meanwhile, Eldorado has "high-income professionals who are interested in urban living after years of commuting from outlying suburbs." With that context in mind, though Eldorado is racially diverse, it is likely that the law enforcement officers would see those coming from Oakville as out of place, especially when Oakville residents might have to work overtime and stay out late in Eldorado. And gradually, they might begin to stop people more and more simply on the basis of race or ethnicity. With racial profiling being a likelihood in Eldorado, the new chief for law enforcement who is hired by the City Council needs to address the issue directly and provide proper training to the law enforcement officers when "moderniz[ing] the department."
-WAC
Unfortunately, race and ethnicity (along with class, gender, and belongingness to a place) continue to be used as proxies for criminality. As particular social groups are subjected to unjustified police attention, the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the law gives way to disproportionate enforcement of the law. Fairness and the American ideal of equality are therefore far removed from reality, and the law is becoming conceived as less protective than oppressive.
ReplyDeletePractices such as racial profiling instill distrust of police and therefore damage police legitimacy not only in the minds of those who directly experience racial profiling, but also in witnesses, and the broader public thanks to modern-day information networks such as TV, radio, and especially the Internet. That law enforcement has increasingly come under-fire reminded me of what I have seen on the Internet. I was on a blogging site recently and came across a post compiling racial disparities in sentencing and use of police force, and racial profiling cases (one of which was the Trayvon Martin killing). Some responded that while some police are bigoted, not all are, and so people should not judge the entire police population based on the actions of a few. However, most responded that they believed that the institution of law enforcement is fundamentally discriminatory and that a majority of cops are bad (prejudiced, inconsiderate, ineffective, tyrannical, corrupt). Such beliefs could stem not only from personal experiences, but also from the abundance of press about these issues of discrimination. Media attention can be good for holding law enforcement accountable and incentivizing fairer practices, yet, at the same time, it may advance disfavor towards police and therefore reduce police effectiveness due to deficient public cooperation.
With respect to Eldorado, the increase of documented and undocumented workers from Mexico and Central America caused Eldorado and Emerald City to adopt SB 1000. This law directs police officers to check the immigration status of those whom they reasonably suspect to be an illegal alien during a lawful stop. SB 1000 hence could promote the racial profiling of Latinos/as. If this becomes a common occurrence, over time Latinos will “see themselves as victims of racial profiling”- as criminal suspects only on account of race and (as disrespected persons)- instead of supposing that cops have a genuine purpose for stopping them. Again, this will hurt police legitimacy and could make police work more difficult.
As Eldorado PD “modernizes” and becomes younger and more diverse- as the force looks more like the communities they are policing, there is potential for improving relations with communities and achieving more favorable results (less confrontation and enmity, more consideration/ fairness/ respect, and more information-sharing). But since racial profiling could still occur even after diversifying the force (due to the pull of professional policing and occupational identity), Eldorado PD might consider investing in training officers to suppress biases as much as they can, and to look out more for suspicious behaviors than appearances.
- C. Tiong
I feel that in light of the Trayvon Martin case, the issue of racial profiling is coming to full surface in regards to speaking out against it, whether black, latino, or even white. Since this situation, it has been seen as a cntroversial issue that has been places on the back burner for far too long that really hasn't had much media or national attention since the Rodney King case. Like, Perry, growing up my mother always expressed that not only being African American, but a woman as well, in a male dominant society, there are strict precautions i must take being that being that we can typically be viewed as inferior to most, making us more susceptible to being taken advantage of in regards to law enforcement and life in general. It is sad that minorities must shape the mindframes of their youth to view society in this way but for many of us it has held true. In my belief, being that Eldorado is a bit more dierse and excepting, such actions as the Trayvon Martin and Tyler Perry incidents would not be tolerated especially if it recieved as much media coverage (which i am sure it would).
ReplyDeleteAs Eldorado is growing in population and diversity community policing will play an essential role in the up coming years. Neighboring Oakville, which has a majority population of African Americans and a growing community of Latino residents, it is very important for police to exhibit legitimacy. Racial profiling will be a factor as seen in laws to check legal status as a group will be profiled based on stereotypes and racism of what an American citizen looks like and who the residents of Eldorado are. This is mirrored with Trayvon Martin as he was profiled and attacked on the basis of appearing to "not belong" or "out of place". Because Eldorado's majority is high income professionals, those who do not fit this description may be targeted for discrimination, harassment and wrongful accusations of "being up to no good". Building a strong relationship with the community demands that the police department be just as diverse as those they serve to protect, and that they are not clouded by stereotypes, racism, or profiling. Stimulations, and courses can be mandated by the police department to assist in preventing racism, for example weapon bias. Eldorado is developing and progressing and this gives the police an opportunity to build a strong community, connections, and legitimacy.
ReplyDeleteJLM
Tyler Perry’s experience with racial profiling is significant because when celebrities voice their encounters with law enforcement through the media, it becomes a wider-known issue and communicated to a broader audience. In another one of my classes a few weeks ago, civil rights attorney John Burris (Rodney King, Oscar Grant) described his incident with being racially profiled while walking with his wife in the Piedmont area. An officer pulled over to the side of the road and asked him what they were doing in the neighborhood and where they were going. After a few moments, the officer realized that it was John he was questioning and proceeded to leave immediately, without explanation. John believes that he was subjected to this stop based solely on his race and for being in a wealthier, whiter community; what Meehan and Ponder would call the race-and-place effect.
ReplyDeleteI think that racial profiling is increasingly becoming easier for law enforcement to get away with given the institutions’ technological advancements (e.g. MDTs) and court cases which allow for greater discretion (e.g. pretextual traffic stops). And now that the recent decision in Florence v County of Burlington entails that those who are arrested may be subjected to a strip-search, regardless of how minor the offense, who knows how many more people will be discriminatorily targeted, stopped, and searched based on their racial or aesthetical qualities, given this case.
In regards to Eldorado, the Florence case along with SB 1000 will give officers more leeway in their ability to arrest individuals based on whether they appear to be an “immigrant,” potentially resulting in many humiliating and violating strip-searches and status checks. Whether documented or not, this procedure is an invasion of privacy and intrusion on individual personal dignity. The street-sex workers and homeless populations that occupy the town may also be disproportionately detained and subjected to such treatment by the police department.
- J. Robles
Racial Profiling is outlaw now a days, but emdedded into the practice of police enforcement. The power of discretion and reasonable suspicion gives the them full power to stop and frisk anyone, mainly black and latinos. There is this perception of latinos and blacks since most come from urban areas with gangs, drugs and poverty. We tend to fear and asscoaite them with being criminals because it has become the norm in everyday culture that latinos and blacks don't have no future other than being criminals and going to prison. I remember me and my friends got stop and frisk once in berkeley by a latino cop. My friends look like gang members (ex-gang members) who also attended berkeley. I felt humiliated with my hangs on my back while they search the car. Even telling them that we were CAL students was not enough because we look like suspicious gang members riding through a prohibited area. This ties into Meehan and Ponder's concept of race and place effect, where the disparate treatement by the police not be the product of race alone -- the racial and class compositon o a neighborhood influences behavior and citizens' peception of that behavior ( Meehan and Ponder 400). The practice of racial profiling is extricably tied not only to race, but to officers conception of place, of what should typically occur in an area and who belongs, as well as where they belong. We definitely look to indifferent and were not wanted to be by the police in that part of the city. We belong probably on the westside of berkeley where there is a high population of latinos. We are criminalized in and out of neighborhoods and never can escape the effect of racial profiling since we always going to look too suspicious.
ReplyDelete-AAA
I agree with your assessment that Perry was a victim of racial profiling. The original police officers, after seeing Perry was of color, their interest in him increased and they began unnecessary treatment in their "investigation." I think that while it is racial profiling the the police officers themselves did not necessarily act racially but that that these racial profiling might be institutionalized within their jobs. Furthermore, the older generations of law enforcement will hold onto these practices longer because it is what they have always been taught, however, new generations of law enforcement will be increasingly diverse and in turn help eliminate racial profiling actions. Also, I think that the more diverse the community is that the law enforcement is forced to realize that they cannot simply racially profile everyone within the community as bad but must evaluate each person individually if they want to have effective community policing. I think that Eldorado and Oakville will have a higher rate of racial profiling but that with the increase of new people moving in that the law enforcement will also be undergoing a change, mirroring the community in changing demographics and that racial profiling will be altered and not used as much.
ReplyDeleteAKCyr
I agree that Tyler Perry was racially profiled and that the police likely let him go so that he wouldn't publicly criticize them. Although the police officers let him go, that doesn't change the fact that they pulled him over likely because of his race, and then proceeded to aggressively interrogate him, which point to this being a case of racial profiling. It is interesting that he's only speaking about his experience now in light of the Trayvon Martin incident, but he likely kept it quiet because of the fact that the cops did let him go (likely so he would not say anything about it in public, as Elise said).
ReplyDeleteIn regards to El Dorado, I think that racial profiling would be a tactic used in the more upscale and gentrified neighborhoods like Emerald City. The police officers there would be looking out for people they believe "don't belong," so African Americans and Latinos especially would likely be victims of racial profiling there.
KC