The gap between the way the black community views policing and the way officers view their work was put on display Saturday morning during a news conference intended to initiate a new dialogue to build trust and respect.
Columbia Police Chief Dan Burton was joined by Mary Ratliff, president of the Columbia chapter of the NAACP, and Lorenzo Lawson, executive director the Youth Empowerment Zone. The three spoke at the news conference in the Columbia City Council chambers after a closed-door meeting.
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As they spoke, Ratliff and Lawson said racial profiling is a problem in Columbia. Burton said better data would show it is not.
"Racial profiling has to stop," Ratliff said. "We understand the police have a job to do, and we are calling for a truce between our black brothers and sisters and the police."
The three were introduced at the news conference by Mayor Brian Treece. The events in Louisiana and Minnesota, where black men were shot by police, in Ballwin, where a police officer was shot during a traffic stop, and Dallas, where 12 officers were shot and five died during an ambush attack Thursday, should be a call for communities to build trust between police and the public, Treece said.
"It should now be obvious that violence begets violence," Treece said. "There is a direct correlation between social unrest and social inequity."
Ratliff, Lawson and Burton promised that they would work together to make Columbia a model community for improved relations.
Black families worry their sons will be stopped for no reason and might not come home because of police violence, Lawson said.
He has personally experienced harsh treatment because of his race, he said.
"I have been stopped. I had the pistol drawn on me, my face in the street, and I thank God that officer didn't pull the trigger," Lawson said. He did not specify where the incident occurred.
Data collected by the police department for its annual state traffic stops report showed police stop black drivers at three times the rate of white drivers when measured against their portion of the population. The report also showed black drivers were twice as likely to have their cars searched as white drivers but that searches of cars driven by whites were 25 percent more likely to yield contraband such as drugs or illegal firearms.
"It sounds like you are implying that police officers in Columbia racially profile," Burton said when asked about the report. "They don't. The numbers are flawed. My opinion is that the data doesn't go far enough. We need to collect a lot more data than we are collecting."
The only time a car is stopped because of the race of a person inside is when police are actively searching for a suspect and race is part of the description, Burton said.
Ratliff, who sought to smooth over the difference of opinion, said she is interested in what happens in the future.
"We have the racial profiling report," she said. "We know what it says. We are not happy with that. We know what has gone on all over the country. We are here today to start working toward tomorrow."
The killings in Dallas had a deeper personal meaning for Burton because Monday is the 39th anniversary of his first day as a cadet at the Dallas police academy. He said the antagonism between police and the black community would give him pause if he was beginning his career today.
Columbia's population is about 79 percent white and 21 percent minority, with blacks making up about 11.5 percent of the total. Asked the portion of the police force that is minority, Burton replied that it is "dismally low. We make every effort we can to attract African-American and Hispanic candidates."
During the questioning, Virginia Law said recruitment also needs to weed out people likely to abuse their authority. Burton said psychological tests and background checks are intended to do that.
"The worst thing you can have is a bully with a gun," Law said.
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Source: Despite split on profiling, police and black leaders vow cooperation to improve relations
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