Justice Department Finds ‘Pattern And Practice’ Of Discrimination Against Blacks In Ferguson
A Justice Department civil rights investigation has concluded there is systematic discrimination against African-Americans in Ferguson, MO.
…the city’s municipal court engaged in a “pattern and practice” of discrimination against African Americans, targeting them disproportionately for traffic stops, use of force, and jail sentences, according to a U.S. law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.The probe is the result of an investigation ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder after the police shooting that killed Michael Brown last summer.
Among the findings, reviewed by CNN: from 2012 to 2014, 85% of people subject to vehicle stops by Ferguson police were African American; 90% of those who received citations were black; and 93% of people arrested were black. This while 67% of the Ferguson population is black.
In 88% of the cases in which police the Ferguson police reported using force, it was against African Americans. During the period 2012-2014 black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, but 26% less likely to be found in possession of contraband.
Blacks were disproportionately more likely to be cited for minor infractions: 95% of tickets for “manner of walking in roadway,” essentially jaywalking, were against African Americans. Also, 94% of all “failure to comply” charges were filed against black people.
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28 responses to Justice Department Finds ‘Pattern And Practice’ Of Discrimination Against Blacks In Ferguson
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Khary A March 3rd, 2015 at 15:17
GTFO!!! FOR REALZ?!?!
edmeyer_able March 3rd, 2015 at 15:23
OMG stop the presses BREAKING NEWS OVER HERE. wtf.
Mark March 3rd, 2015 at 15:27
Most of my friends that declare racism is dead in America have no trouble throwing around the N word. Unbelievable ignorance of their own racism. Many cops claim that the job forces them to act as they do. We ultimately have a chicken and egg scenario.
William March 3rd, 2015 at 15:34
http://youtu.be/V5czY7soYcs
Hans_Bader March 3rd, 2015 at 17:53
Does being in Liberaland mean living in an ideological bubble?
The Justice Department is just ignoring the facts that (1) crime rates are not equal among different racial groups, as statistics from the FBI and BJS show; and (2) the racially “disparate impact” it complains about does not even violate the Title VI statute it is relying on (according the Supreme Court’s 2001 decision in Alexander v. Sandoval).
The Justice Department’s assumptions seem to contradict the Supreme Court’s 8-to-1 decision in United States v. Armstrong (1996). That decision rejected the “presumption that people of all races commit all types of crimes” at the same rate, which is “contradicted by” reality. Blacks, who are only 13 percent of the population, commit nearly half of all murders.
Moreover, the Supreme Court ruled in Alexander v. Sandoval (2001) that racial disproportionalities (“disparate impact”) don’t violate Title VI, only “intentional” discrimination does. The federal government claims that while the Title VI statute itself
doesn’t reach disparate impact, regulations under it can and do (an idea that the Supreme Court decision described as “strange” in footnote 6 of its opinion, expressing the view of 5 of the 9 justices).
Suzanne McFly March 3rd, 2015 at 18:58
You crack me up in multiple ways, but especially when you are so desperate to be relevant you have to “like” your own comments.
Hans_Bader March 3rd, 2015 at 19:00
“Liking” your comment sometimes causes it to rise over other comments in the comment display. Did you think I didn’t want my comment to be read? Or that I wanted to waste time posting a comment that wouldn’t be read? I look forward to reading anything substantive you have to say (if indeed you have anything substantive to add to this discussion).
Suzanne McFly March 3rd, 2015 at 19:04
Nope, I work hard all day, the last thing I want to do is come to LL to endlessly discuss something that is common knowledge to me, but seems to escape your type. Peace out, tell franz I said hello.
Hans_Bader March 3rd, 2015 at 19:08
What is common knowledge to you? The Supreme Court precedent I cited? (Which undercuts the assumptions of the Holder Justice Department)? Or the racial statistics (which I am every bit as familiar with as you, having once produced statistics as a federal employee before going on to law school and serving as a federal district court clerk and practicing lawyer)?
Suzanne McFly March 3rd, 2015 at 19:36
Justice Department Finds ‘Pattern And Practice’ Of Discrimination Against Blacks In Ferguson
That is common knowledge…btw, peace out means good bye, so I will try this again…peace out.
Hans_Bader March 3rd, 2015 at 19:39
I’ve shown that the Justice Department’s recent finding is contradicted by its own crime statistics, and own past litigation positions in cases like United States v. Armstrong, where the Supreme Court said racial disparities don’t prove discrimination in the criminal justice system. Essentially, you are assuming your own conclusion, which is not very persuasive.
OldLefty March 3rd, 2015 at 19:44
No you didn’t.
They showed that there is a pattern of abuse in Ferguson.
OldLefty March 3rd, 2015 at 19:32
Although
crack and cocaine are virtually the same thing, Congress has assigned far
harsher penalties to crimes involving crack, a drug primarily associated with
people of color
Crack
is the only drug with a mandatory prison sentence for a first offense simple
possession.
Blacks (5.2%) and Hispanics (4.2%) stopped by
police while driving are more likely than Whites (2.6%) to be arrested.
In other words, Blacks composed 11.6% of drivers
stopped by police, but represented 19.9% of the drivers arrested. Hispanics
were 8.4% of drivers stopped by police, but 11.7% of those arrested. Whites, on
the other hand, are 77% of stopped drivers but only 66.3% of drivers arrested.
.
Blacks are more likely to be
sentenced to prison for the same crime than Whites. One third of people of
color sentenced to prison would have received a shorter or non-incarcerative
sentence if they had been treated in court the same way as White defendants
facing similar charges
Although
Black Americans make up only 12.7% of the U.S. population, they make up 48.2%
of adults in federal, state, or local prisons and jails. According to the 1998
federal National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), 72% of users were
White and 15% were Blacks.
Latinos
represent just 11.1% of the U.S. population and only 10% of U.S. drug users,
yet are 18.6% of the U.S. prison population and 22.5% of those convicted for
drug offenses.
On
average, 1 in 25 adult American Indians is under the jurisdiction of the
nation’s criminal justice system – more than twice the number of White adults
in the system.
42.5%
of prisoners on Death Row are Black, more than three times the percentage of
Black Americans in the national population.
In
2003, in the United States, White people were imprisoned at a rate of 376 per
every 100,000 in the population, compared to 709 per 100,000 American Indians,
997 per 100,000 Latinos and 2,526 per 100,000 Blacks in the population.
Black
males have a 32% chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives;
Hispanic males have a 17% chance; White males have a 6% chance. If
current rates of incarceration continue, about 1 in 3 Black males, 1 in 6
Hispanic males and 1 in 17 White males are expected to go to prison at some
point during their lives.
Black youth are more likely to be detained than White
youth. Moreover, Black youth with no prior admissions were six times more
likely to be incarcerated in a juvenile facility than a White youth with a
similar history. Latino youth were three times more likely to be imprisoned.
Among persons over age 24, Blacks (11.2%) were
significantly more likely to be pulled over while driving than Whites (8.9%).
Among drivers stopped for speeding, Blacks (75.7%)
and Hispanics (79.4%) were more likely than Whites (66.6%) to be ticketed
Police were more likely to conduct a search of the
vehicle and/or driver in traffic stops involving Black male drivers (15.9%) or
Hispanic male drivers (14.2%), compared to White male drivers (7.9%).
http://sites.duke.edu/nchumanrights/incarceration-and-criminal-justice/
Hans_Bader March 3rd, 2015 at 19:38
Almost half of all murders are committed by blacks, who are just 13% of the population, according to the statistics gathered by the FBI and the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. So I don’t see how the statistic you cited (that “42.5% of prisoners on Death Row are Black”) proves racial discrimination. Blacks are not overrepresented on death row compared to their overall percentage of murderers.
The Supreme Court explained in the Armstrong decision — an 8-to-1 decision — that there is no legal “presumption that people of all races commit all types of crimes” at the same rate, since that is “contradicted by” reality. Blacks, who are only 13 percent of the population, commit nearly half of all murders.
So your apples-to-orange comparison of the number of blacks on death row to their “percentage of Black Americans in the national population” does not prove discrimination, and just reflects the higher murder rate and higher crime rate among blacks. The murder rate is six times higher among blacks than among whites.
OldLefty March 3rd, 2015 at 19:43
We don’t know that.
We do know that they are prosecuted and incarcerated more.
We know they have less access to the justice system in terms of the quality of representation and defense they can afford.
Hans_Bader March 3rd, 2015 at 19:44
So black crime victims are lying? Most black crime victims identify their assailants as other blacks (especially in cases of robbery and rape). According to blacks themselves, black-on-black crime is a reality, and criminals are disproportionately black.
OldLefty March 3rd, 2015 at 19:56
You are missing the point.
In many places, whites are treated very differently under the same circumstances than blacks, weather or not a crime was committed.
Jonny Gammage, Jordan Miles (both from my home town), and Eric Gardner; I doubted they would have been treated the same if they were white.
As my kids say, (both in their 30’s, one an attorney); half of their white affluent high school would have been dead if the police treated them the same as they did Michael Brown, even though his behavior was the same .)
trees March 3rd, 2015 at 21:10
Michael Brown is dead because he attacked a police officer.
Michael Brown reached into a patrol car and attempted to wrestle the gun from the officer, discharging the weapon in the struggle.
This is not speculation, but the result of an investigation.
There is video proof of Michael Brown’s aggressive behavior just moments prior to his altercation with the officer.
Any argument to the contrary is nothing but speculation, and is not supported by the facts.
OldLefty March 3rd, 2015 at 21:27
Michael Brown is dead because he attacked a police officer.
_______
We don’t know any of that.
That is why there was a problem with a grand jury conducted (in secret by a prosecutor who’s father was killed by a black man) like a defense without the transparency of a trial.
Michael Brown reached into a patrol car and attempted to wrestle the gun from the officer, discharging the weapon in the struggle.
This is not speculation, but the result of an investigation.
Wilson was allowed taint evidence (he washed the blood off his hands)
He was allowed to testify for hours in front of the grand jury and never challenged Wilson’s account of his confrontation with Brown. (never done)
McCulloch also presented the jury with all the evidence gathered, regardless of whether it supported or contradicted a prosecution and not in context, with NO cross examination.(never done )
In the 1992 Supreme Court case of United States v. Williams, Scalia explained that, “Neither in this country nor in England has the suspect under investigation by the grand jury ever been thought to have a right to testify or to have exculpatory evidence presented.” The U.S. Constitution does not require prosecutors to present evidence favorable to the defense. It is the grand jury’s role to decide whether there is enough evidence for a criminal charge. Yet McCulloch presented evidence both against and in favor of Wilson’s prosecution.
_______
“There is video proof of Michael Brown’s aggressive behavior just moments prior to his altercation with the officer. ”
________
So?
Kids in my affluent white suburb do the same.
The kids protect them from their own young and stupid selves. They do not engage in summary execution.
And yes, ‘any argument to the contrary IS nothing but speculation, and is NOT supported by the facts.
granpa.usthai March 4th, 2015 at 00:22
and sidewalks are a deadly weapon if you are standing on one while black.
StoneyCurtisll March 3rd, 2015 at 20:29
You forgot to end your comment with, WHITE POWER~!
jybarz March 4th, 2015 at 02:30
You’re doing it again, Hans.
jybarz March 4th, 2015 at 02:29
Hey, Hans, no matter how good you think your comments are, please stop voting for yourself.
Obewon March 3rd, 2015 at 20:24
Michael Brown was executed by Klansman Wilson for Jaywalking while black: “95% of tickets for “manner of walking in roadway,” essentially jaywalking, were against African Americans.” Hans_Bader upvotes his own post. What a loser.
granpa.usthai March 4th, 2015 at 00:21
so you readily admit that blacks are more likely to be ‘treated equally’ because they are black? Is that not a presupposed assumption?
eg: blacks commit nearly almost half of all murders, therefore blacks should be treated with a bit more ‘caution’?
and of course, these lopsided “facts” wouldn’t take into account hunting down and murdering a black child for walking while black in their parents gated community? Or, say, black bodies found with a noose around their neck beside a burned cross? (not called ‘murder’ – means it don’t fit the stats)?
Disproportionate lopsided stats equate to FEAR MONGERING.
and usually for an undisclosed reason.
falling short on your recruitment requirements at the compound?
Obewon March 3rd, 2015 at 20:17
Both of Darren Wilson’s former employers were proven racist PD’s under DOJ decree for dissolution of his first department, with Ferguson now also legally slammed for “pattern and practice” of discrimination against African Americans.
KKK’s new Grand Cyclops Wilson, has a new job proving 3 for 3!
jybarz March 4th, 2015 at 02:45
Ferguson PD obviously loves to play war games the way they are geared up like the military. They look so stupid and over the top. The civilians are unarmed and with raised hands indicating surrender on every picture I see the PD is dealing with people. WTF is wrong with them!
The sooner the DOJ deal with these bastards the sooner the Ferguson people of color be freed from constant persecution and brutalization.
MarcoZandrini March 4th, 2015 at 09:53
Doh!