Racial
profiling exposed
Police officers tell federal
lawmakers how they targeted Blacks,
GLENCOE, Ill.�Three somber-faced representatives of the U.S.
Congress March 24 peered into the eyes of white Highland Park,
Ill., cops who told "unbelievable tales" of the
discriminatory process plaguing police departments across the
nation called "racial profiling."
The officers said they used code words like
"sombrero" to refer to Hispanic drivers and a "load
of coal," cop talk for a car full of Blacks.
Most shocking to the congress persons and the Rev. Jesse L.
Jackson, founder of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition who called for the
meeting to take unofficial testimony that will lead to a broader
official congressional hearing, was the explanation of the
unwritten "NUT" ordinance. NUT stands for "No
Niggers Uptown", officers told the panel. Some officers said
they learned about the racist practice of keeping Blacks out of
the Highland Park business district directly from Chief Daniel J.
Dahlberg.
"What happens is you�re sold a package � that this is
the way to the top," officer James Coursey told the panel,
referring to the practice of breaking the rules and being a
"good ol� boy."
"You don�t have to buy the package, you don�t have to
participate, but if you don�t you will not be promoted, you will
not get special positions, you will not get advanced through the
ranks," he said.
Officer Coursey said traffic enforcement through racial
profiling had become the "tool for those who can�t think
and follow their own thoughts. Most every police officer that was
a field-training officer has become a sergeant or some type of
advanced rank. The message they�re sending to young police
officers is racial profiling is good � condoned �
rewarded," he said.
The panel consisted of Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), Rep. John
Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking minority member of the House
Judiciary Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Ca.) and Rev. Jackson.
The officers had just returned from Washington, D.C., with Rev.
Jackson where they told their stories to members of Congress and
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Bill Lann Lee. Rep. Conyers has
introduced the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2000
(H.R. 3927) that will address issues of police accountability.
Rev. Jackson and members of Congress have called for the
Department of Justice to investigate the allegations and to
provide protection for the officers, some of whom have received
death threats. Highland Park is an area north of Chicago where
high profile Blacks like former Bulls basketball star Michael
Jordan and former Bears Super Bowl star Dave Duerson live.
"I witnessed something I thought I�d never see,"
Rep. Waters told the audience gathered in the basement of St. Paul
AME Church here. "That is white officers coming to
Washington, D.C., to break the code of silence and reveal
things" Blacks have always complained about.
"You have documented and put a face on this problem. But I
have not been able to sleep (since hearing the officers�
testimony) because I worry about your safety," she told the
officers, some of whom have filed a lawsuit against the
department.
Sgt. Jerry Larson, who is not a member of the lawsuit,
confirmed the tales of altering police reports to lower crime
statistics, missing firearms and harassment of suspects. He
explained how officers were instructed to position their cars
perpendicular to Highway 41, a main thoroughfare from Chicago to
Milwaukee, Wisc., that runs through Highland Park, and shine their
bright lights. This allows the officers to see into oncoming cars
and identify the race of the occupants. Cops also would park on
hills and peer through binoculars to determine the race of drivers
they wanted to stop.
"The importance of my testimony is I�m simply a
witness," said Sgt. Larson, a veteran of 16 years whose wife
also is an officer on the Highland Park force. "I�ve been
involved in (administrative) meetings and the philosophy. We�re
breaking some tough ground here.
"African Americans or Hispanics brought into the station
in handcuffs are treated differently. There are winks and pats on
the back. I have no joy in saying these things, but hiding this
would be more embarrassing than exposing it and dealing with it.
"I was exposed to too much that I didn�t care to
see," he said.
Affidavits supporting the cops� charges have been filed by 22
current or former Highland Park police department employees.
Rodney Watt, the officer who broke the case open by coming
forward, said he has observed supervisors give Nazi salutes to two
Jewish officers on the force. He was taught that Blacks and
Hispanics can be stopped for no reason because he can "create
probable cause at the typewriter."
Officer Watt said he was hired as the number one recruit by the
force and has a Masters degree, but he lives in fear now and has
received death threats. He said he complained to the chief about
the illegal practices but was laughed at. He met with Highland
Park City Manager David Limanari at his home in April 1999 and was
assured that the problem would be looked into. Instead, he said he
began to come under investigation and was suspended for 30 days
for insubordination.
The officers also complain that an investigation by former U.S.
Attorney Thomas Sullivan, who was hired by the city to look into
the alleged wrongdoings, has been sabotaged by leaked information,
and they no longer cooperate with the inquiries.
"It�s been a struggle to convince other officers to come
forward because they see the intimidation and harassment I
face," he said.
One of the most gripping testimonies came from Carolyn Ledford,
a Highland Park resident of 24 years, who called racial profiling
an "ongoing nightmare" for her family and described
being approached on more than one occasion by officers with their
guns drawn. Still traumatized by one incident, she said an officer
approached her and said "b��, stay in the car." She
could not bring herself to say the expletive.
On the other hand, another Black couple who has lived in
Highland Park for 31 years, told The Final Call they have never
had trouble from the police.
"I believe (the allegations), but it has never happened to
us," said Dorothy Baskerville, who walked from the meeting
with her husband Jack.
The couple said there were five Black families in Highland Park
when they move to the city. Now there are 25 families, they said,
theorizing, "the greater the number, the greater the
concern" by cops.
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (R-Ill.), in a statement read during
the meeting, said that while most officers fulfill their duties
without engaging in improper practice, "racial profiling is
practiced by misguided individual officers."
"When racial profiling is encouraged and taught by police
management, it is particularly insidious and undermines not only
freedom but trust between the community and its local law
enforcement agencies," the statement said.
Sen. Feingold is a co-sponsor of the Traffic Stops Statistics
Study Act, companion legislation to Rep. Conyers� bill that
would direct the Attorney General to analyze existing traffic
stops data and conduct a study of traffic stops based on a
sampling of jurisdictions.
Deputy Attorney General Bill Lann Lee said the Justice
Department is actively investigating 11 major cities for patterns
of racial profiling by their police departments.
"The feeling among minority groups is they can�t and don�t
receive equal justice," Rep. Davis told The Final Call.
"In traffic court there�s �just us,� in the courtrooms
there�s �just us,� in the county jails there�s �just us.�
Not justice, but �just us,� " he said.
"We know that racial profiling goes on all over America.
The revelation of this speaks to the courage of the law
enforcement officers themselves. They�re the true heroes and
sheroes as we try to change the culture of policing," Rep.
Davis said.
Photo: Among those attending the
federal hearing were; Con. Danny Davis, Rep. John Conyers, Rep.
Maxine Waters and Rev. Jesse Jackson. |