Walking While Black, Yes It’s Still A Problem

I can’t tell you about the countless times in my own city I have witnessed “stop and frisk” searches for simply walking while Black.

I can remember vividly when a young African-American male couldn’t take the trash out like his parent asked, without being stopped and searched by the police. The story is all too familiar around the nation, but the city of brotherly love has had enough. The ACLU of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit challenging the “stop and frisk” searches by the Philadelphia Police Department.

The ACLU lawsuit comes about after a complaint filed on behalf of eight men, including Jewel Williams, a statelaw maker. Mr. Williams said he was detained and handcuffed during a traffic stop. The police later apologized stating it was a “misunderstanding”.

In the lawsuit, the ACLU cites city data shows 253,333 people were stopped last year and more than 70 percent were black. Only 8.4 percent of the stops led to an arrest.

Despite needing a valid reason to “stop and frisk”, the ACLU alleges pedestrians are being stopped because of their race.

“Our belief is that people are being stopped because of their race and not because of any individual activity that should raise any suspicion by police,” said Roper, adding that stops were made by both black and white officers.

The use of “stop and frisk” searches has been a focal point of Mayor Michael Nutter’s campaign to slow violent crime in Philadelphia, which is down since he took office in 2008.

What do you think? Although the police department is there to protect and serve, do you feel some of the searches are racially motivated?

Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/policeman-frisking-the-person-in-yellow-shirt-7715247/