------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Nov. 22, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
PROVIDENCE. R..I.: COPS SUED OVER RACIAL PROFILING By Michael Shaw Providence, R.I. Two suits against the Providence Police Department--one by the American Civil Liberties Union, the other by the state attorney general--were filed Nov. 6 in State Superior Court after the police were discovered to be illegally under- reporting traffic-stop data regarding race. The suits were prompted by the ACLU's revelation that Providence police traffic-stop data submissions totaled at best one-sixth of any other single city's records. Since Providence is by far the largest city in Rhode Island, with over 1 million residents, this discrepancy was a red flag pointing to attempts to hide an ongoing policy of racism. Police statewide are required by law to submit data on the race of those whose vehicles they stop. This was mandated by recent civil rights legislation in order to document racial profiling. This law came about due to bitter complaints and fierce mobilizations by Rhode Islanders of color and their allies. They were sick of people being punished for "Driving While Black." The shooting death in February 1999 of off-duty Black officer Cornell Young Jr. by two white fellow officers in this city unleashed a further firestorm of protest. The incident accelerated community organizing against police abuses. Former Providence Police Chief Urbano Prignano resigned in disgrace last year under growing pressure from community groups and charges of corruption in the police department. These emerged as federal prosecutors revealed widespread racketeering in the mayor's office, known as "Operation Plunder Dome." Prignano's replacement, Richard Sullivan, has continued his predecessor's arrogant attitude of denial. At a Brown University forum on police and community earlier this month, Sullivan flatly stated that his department has "absolutely no corruption." When confronted with Providence's egregious failure to document traffic stops, he said at first that officers "were unclear on how to submit" this simple form. Later he backpedaled, saying that record keeping had merely lapsed during one month this summer. While the civil suits play out, local activists against racism and police brutality are not resting. They are engaged in a campaign led by the progressive community group Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) to win a city ordinance for an external review board, which would create civilian oversight of the police and help curb their racism. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
