14 AMERICAN BLUES THEATER The #BlackLivesMatter movement has sparked nationwide protests and has raised awareness worldwide about the unequal treatment of black people by police in the United States. Listening to the voices from the movement—and learning from the death of Eric Garner and the series of other deaths of unarmed black men—it’s clear that two issues need to be addressed: racial profiling and police use of excessive force. Both run afoul of the U.S. Constitution, but remain common practices in law enforcement, too often with tragic results. In Garner’s case, for example, police targeted him for the petty crime of selling loose cigarettes—the types of crimes black people are targeted for at higher rates—and then attempted to arrest him with a chokehold, banned by the department. Whatever else we have learned from the recent tragedies of police violence, it is clear that we need comprehensive federal, state, and local policies that outlaw racial profiling and rein in police excessive force. Racial profiling—as well as profiling based on religion, ethnicity and national origin—continues to plague our nation despite the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment under the law. In a 2011 report, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights found evidence of widespread racial profiling, showing that African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately likely to be stopped and searched by police, even though they’re less likely to be found possessing contraband or committing a criminal act. In Illinois, for example, black and Hispanic drivers were twice as likely to be searched after a traffic stop compared to white drivers, but white drivers were twice as likely to have contraband. The New York Police Department’s controversial stop-and-frisk program shows similar evidence of racial profiling, with police targeting blacks and Latinos about 85 percent of the time. In nearly nine out of 10 searches, police find nothing. Likewise, excessive force by police persists despite the Constitution’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. In lawsuits and investigations, the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that a number of major police departments have engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force. The Cleveland Police Department was most recently found to be an offender, but it follows a long line of other wayward law enforcement agencies: Seattle, New Orleans, Portland, Newark, and Albuquerque among them. Clearly, cases like Eric Garner’s are not isolated — police use of excessive force is a systemic, national problem. The DOJ has recommended revising and clarifying local policies regarding appropriate uses of force, improving officer training and supervision, and implementing rigorous internal accountability systems, among other things. But recommendations are not enough. Conquering this systemic issue demands a national mandate. Profiling undermines public safety and strains police- community trust. When law enforcement officers target THE POLICE, PUBLIC TRUST, AND RACIAL PROFILING In Six Corners, accusations of racial profiling fly across the table. The below is from a Washington Post article entitled “Racial profiling has destroyed public trust in police. Cops are exploiting our weak laws against it.” by Ranjana Natarajan—a professor and director of the Civil Rights Clinic at The University of Texas School of Law—originally published on December 15, 2014. Black Lives Matter protest in New York City, November 2014