NJ state police and blacks on the NJ turnpike - Essay Example

1 There are at least two operative definitions of the practice knows as racial profiling: The first is what is termed as 'hard profiling', which puts an individuals race as the only consideration in the minds eye of the officer in making a preliminary assessment of suspicious criminality. When a police officer views a black person or other minority, and the officer does not have anything else to substantiate criminality, he pulls the black person over for a pat down on the hope that he may either Find a weapon or drugs in his possession. The second form is referred too as 'soft racial profiling', where the police officer uses race as one of the reasons, among others which have been previously detailed to him as stereotypical of drug dealers or couriers. The New Jersey State Troopers for example, have intelligence that Jamaican drug posses have a fondness for Nissan Pathfinders as their vehicles of choice when transporting marijuana along the Northeast Corridor. The controversy surrounds racial profiling on the New Jersey Turnpike as practiced by New Jersey State Troopers was focused almost exclusively on highway stops. Where the police were stopping a disproportionate share of black and other minority drivers for traffic violations, but the prevailing argument states that the stops were specifically carried out as a means of drug interdiction. Of course in many instances, the driver may have committed an infraction, but there might, and usually were others within the specific cluster in which he was traveling, who also committed a similar violation. But it was their lucky day for the others, because a minority was in the vicinity. 2 New Jersey State Police and Blacks on the New Jersey Turnpike We will take a look into a court case which led a Superior Court judge to conclude in 1996 that the New Jersey State Police had a policy of 'selective enforcement' by targeting blacks for investigation and arrest. Some of the finding were as follows; "The ruling followed one of the states longest evidentry hearings-six months of testimony and 200 exhibits, many of them statistical surveys of drivers and traffic stops on the southern most 26-mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike. Judge Robert Francis found that troopers looking for drug suspects had pulled over an inordinate number of black drivers over a three year period simply because of their race. The survey determined that some 98 per cent of all the drivers along the stretch of the turnpike were going over the speed limit of 55 miles per hour, giving the police latitude to stop virtually anybody. The survey found that while 13.5 per cent of the drivers on the stretch of the highway were black, 46 per cent of those halted by the police over a 40- month period were black" According to the public defender, Fred Last, who helped design the survey, said, "They were pulling over blacks out of proportion to the population of the turnpike" (Last). Judge Francis agreed, saying, "The statistical disparities are indeed stark", the judge added, "utter failure" of police commanders to monitor the arrests or investigate the many claims of institutional discrimination, manifests its indifference if not acceptance" (Francis) One striking result of the survey, which the judge noted, was that the troopers using 3 radar tended to stop black drivers at near their rate in the highway population, while the troopers on road patrol cruising without radar, who could more freely choose who to stop, arrested far more blacks. James Kifner noted in a New York Times article that, "As they got more discretion, they stopped more blacks. It is a telling argument that they are profiling. They get promoted on the basis of the number of arrests they make, and there is the general mythology that blacks are more likely to have contraband" (Kifner 1988) A report released by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, exposed the fallacy of the argument that racial profiling is rational because blacks commit crimes at a higher rate than whites. According to this report, The General Accounting Office of the federal government showed that minorities were far more likely than whites to be searched by customs o0fficials, without justification at all, even statistically. Black women were nine times more likely to be x-rayed after a frisk, but "were less than half as likely to be found carrying contraband as white women" (GAO) According to Fred Mazelis in his article, "New Jersey Internal Records Document Widespread Racial Profiling of Blacks and Hispanic Motorists", pointed out that, "troopers patrolling the New Jersey Turnpike at night park perpendicular to the roadway with their high beams shining, so they can see the occupants of passing cars. These parking spots were known as 'fishing holes', enabling the police to single out their victims on the basis of race" (Mazelis). The New Jersey Review Team expressed concern that, "where state troopers were afforded more discretion by virtue of their duty 4 assignment, they tended to focus more on minority motorists. This analysis is consistent with the notion that officers who had more time to devote to drug interdiction were more likely to rely upon racial or ethnic stereotypes, than those officers whose principle concern was to enforce specific motor vehicle laws or respond to calls for service" (Report pp. 33-34) In its official statement, the state police officially prohibited racial profiling, but according to a 1999 memo from then Attorney General Debra Stone, "racial profiling exists as a part of the culture" Stone wrote that, "veteran troopers served as "coaches" in showing the new troopers how to carry out racial profiling". "Trooper after trooper testified that coaches also taught minority troopers how to do this" (Stone) In a 1987 state police memo, the following profiles were listed as descriptions to assist police in finding possible drug couriers: Columbian males, Hispanic males and a black male together, or a Hispanic male and female. According to Mazelis, among the documents released by the state Attorney General's office were numerous bitter complaints from motorists who had been stopped and in many cases singled out for abuse and humiliation. State troopers themselves, if they were black or Hispanic, were not immune from being pulled over for "DWB" - driving while black. One such officer, a stare police sergeant, wrote that he had been stopped 40 times by state troopers while off duty. "There were times when I was the fourth vehicle in a line of five exceeding the speed limit, I was the only one stopped". It does not take long to realize that you (the minority) are the choice of the day" (Mazelis) 5 The release of 91,000 pages of internal records by the state of New Jersey reveal that a systematic policy of searching cars driven by blacks or Hispanics had been carried out for at least a decade. The statistics show that minority drivers, making up 13 per cent of the states motorists, accounted for more than 80 per cent of those stopped by state troopers. The DEA taught state troopers some common identifying signs of drug couriers: nervousness, conflicting info about origin and destination cities, among vehicle occupants; no luggage for a long trip; lots of cash; lack of drivers license, or insurance, the spare tire in the back seat, rental license plates or plates from states like Arizona and New Mexico, loose screws or scratches near vehicle hollow spaces, which can be converted to hiding places for drugs and funs. The agency also shared intelligence about types of cars that carriers favored on certain routes, as well as about the ethnic make up of drug trafficking organizations. A typical DEA report from the early 1990's noted that large scale interstate trafficking networks controlled by Jamaicans, Haitians, and black street gangs dominate the manufacture and distribution of crack" (DEA). The 1999 "Heroin Trends" report out of Newark declared that "predominant wholesale traffickers are Colombian, followed by Dominicans, Chinese, West African/Nigerian, Pakistani, Hispanic and Indian. Mid-levels are dominated by Dominicans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, African-Americans and Nigerians" (Heroine Trends) The mountain of official records constitutes the most damning evidence of crude official racism, fostered or accepted by top state officials of both the Democratic and 6 Republican party. The state's chief law endorsement officials knew about racial profiling since at least 1989 but refused to admit it until a report was issued in April 1999. According to Mazelis, "the documents released covered the administrations of three New Jersey governors and seven Attorney Generals. The then governor Republican Christine Whitman, feigned outrage when the issue emerged prominently and the longstanding policy began to unravel in April 1988, after three unarmed men were shot by troopers on the highway. Governor Whitman fired the State police superintendent when he declared that racial profiling was understandable because minorities were allegedly responsible for most of the cocaine and marijuana traffic" (Mazelis) "On April 19, 1999 New Jersey Attorney General Peter G. Verniero announced indictments to two New Jersey State Troopers accused of falsifying reports to make it appear that some black motorist they had pulled over were white. Troopers John Hogan and James Kenna, who were involved in the April 23, 1998 shooting of three unarmed men on the New Jersey Turnpike and are facing criminal charges, subsequently faced 19 misdemeanor charges of falsifying records and conducting illegal searches" (Kocieniewski 1999) Governor Whitman's outrage, however, was hypocritical and false. In 1994, Republican operative Ed Rollins boasted that he had helped secure victory for Whitman in her first race for governor that year by paying off black ministers to depress the turnout of black voters. Just a year later, a photo was released to the media of Whitman posing with a broad smile on her face as she carried out her own racial profiling, frisking a 7 young black man while patrolling with the cops in the city of Camden in 1996. It is clear that state officials played to stereotypes, fears and prejudicial attitudes, as Mazelis points out that in an August 1993 memo, during the administration of democratic governor James Florio, the memo quotes then attorney general Fred Deversa rejecting any changes in the policy of racial profiling of motorists when he (Deversa) stated, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" (Deversa) The data reveal that very few stops [0.7%] result in the search of a motor vehicle. The available data indicate that the overwhelming majority of these searches [77.2 %] involved black or Hispanic persons. Specifically, 21.4 % of these searches involved a white person, more than half [53.1%] involved a black person, and one in every four [24.1 %] involved a Hispanic person" (Report pp. 26-27) Judging by arrest rates, minorities were vastly over represented among drug traffickers. Blacks make up over 60 per cent of arrests in New Jersey for drugs and weapons, though they are 13.5 per cent of the population. After more than a decade of maltreatment and subsequent complaints by those who had been victimized, the ACLU brought lawsuits on behalf of twelve motorists who were targeted for traffic stops based on their skin color. The ACLU did not received any of the money awarded. In January 1999, Maher, an Egyptian American women, and her co-worker Morka, a Nigerian national who at the time headed the International Human Rights Law Group's work on Africa, were driving along the New Jersey turnpike, when they were pulled over 8 to the side of the highway by the New Jersey State Police. During the traffic stop one of the officers began to strangle Morka and slammed him repeatedly against his steering wheel. The other officer assaulted Maher by holding a gun to her head, twisting her arm behind her back, and throwing her against the car. Although Morka and Maher tried to file a formal complaint, New Jersey police met them with resistance. At first they were denied the proper forms to file a complaint, and later police failed to complete an investigation of their complaint. Another victim of police profiling, Dr. Elmo Randolph, received $75,000. Randolph a West Orange dentist who drives a luxury car had been stopped approximately 100 times without ever receiving a ticket. On numerous occasions, Dr. Randolph had been subjected to searches of his car and interrogations about his profession and how and where he bought his car. Dr. Randolph stated, "Police have harassed African Americans and other minorities on New Jersey's highways for years and it has created a climate where innocent people are afraid of police" (Randolph) Another ACLU client, Herbert Morton received $50,000. Morton was pulled over by police for speeding, despite the fact that his cruise control was set at 55 mph. When he questioned the trooper about his speed, he was rebuffed and forced to get out of his vehicle. Mr. Morton was ultimately allowed to leave without being issued a ticket. The officer failed to make any record of the stop and therefore, in pursuing his complaint with the police, Mr. Morton had to identify the officer who stopped him through a photo line- up. 9 In a prepared statement Deborah Jacobs, Executive Director of ACLU of New Jersey said, "The state has now, at least for the individuals in the present case, provided some compensation, but we also need to see much more in the way of reform - data collection, external oversight, more and better training, diversity recruitment, competitive pay, accreditation of police departments, and other steps to promote professional conduct among police" (Jacobs) An article in the New Jersey Star Ledger by Rick Hepp states, "The number of complaints from motorists alleging state troopers pulled over their vehicles simply because of a drivers race fell last year to its lowest level since the state agreed racial profiling was "real, not imagined in 1999" (Hepp) The state police received 85 complaints in 2006 that troopers had profiled by stopping motorists based solely on their race, ethnicity, gender or other stereotyping, according to the statistics provided to the Star-Ledger under the state Open Public Records Act. It was the fewest since the state police received 78 complaints in 1999- - the same year the state agreed to court ordered reforms aimed at eradicating racial profiling from the ranks. Profiling complaints to the state police had averaged more than 100 per year since 1999. There were 106 in 2005" (Hepp) Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey and a long time critic of racial profiling, said the decrease in motorists complaints of racial profiling shows that the reforms are taking. I believe that, in fact, is part of it, 10 and I think the state police are accommodating themselves to the reforms", It is still an open question of whether the culture has changed enough for the consent decree to be lifted. But I do think this is progress and I commend the state police" (Randolph) "The state has spent more than $15.5 million to settle two dozen law suits over racial profiling claims that date as far back as 1988, the vast majority of the money - - $12.95 million - - went to the four minority men involved in the April 1988 shooting o9n the turnpike" (Hepp). "The state last reached a settlement in January 2005, when it agreed to pay $2,050 to Darrell Dickey and Michael Moore regarding a January 1996 stop on the turnpike. Another 14 racial profiling law suits remain active in state and federal courts, meaning the total state payout could rise" (Hepp) Works Cited Hepp, Rick (2007) Accusations of Profiling Drop Against State Police, New Jersey Star- Ledger April 1, 2007, Accessed on line on April 6, 2007, from www.star-ledger.com Heroine Trends Report of Newark, New Jersey, 1989, United States Drug Enforcement Adminstration Jackson, Reginald (2007) quoted New Jersey star-Ledger, June 2007, Accessed on line April6, 2007, from www.star-ledger.com Jacobs, Deborah (2003) American Civil Liberties Union, Executive Director, Press Release, ACLU Wins #775,000 for victims of racial profiling by state troopers Kifner, John (1988), van Shooting Revives Charges of Racial Profiling by New Jersey State Police, New York Times, May 10, 1998, Accessed on line on April 6, 2007, from www.nyt.org Kocieniewski, David (1999), Trenton Charges two troopers with falsifying Race of Drivers, New York Times, April 26, 1999, Accessed o [n line on April 6, 2007, from www.nyt.org Randolph, Elmo, (1997) plaintiff Morka et al v. State of New Jersey et al Mazelis, Fred New Jersey Internal Records Document Widespread Racial Profiling of Black and Hispanic Motorists United States Government Accounting Office United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Report 1989 Read More