A column in today’s USA Today reads “The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday accused the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi civil rights violations, including racial profiling, in his crusade to stem crime in the state capital. The accusations against Mayor Frank Melton, who is black, and police are based on complaints from people who say they were pulled over because of their race and searched without probable cause, the ACLU’s national racial-profiling coordinator King Downing, said at a news conference.
“For me to leave my office and come into one of the states means that there is a very serious problem,” said Downing, who is based in New York. Downing said Melton’s race should make him more sensitive to the problems this is creating.” Melton dismissed the ACLU’s complaints and denied he had violated anyone’s rights. “We have 26 people that have been killed in Jackson this year. We have 300,000 people killed across America each year. The majority of them are African-Americans (in my lingo they are American black people, mostly dealing drugs to a few stupid white people), and it is time to do something,” he said. I want to know what the ACLU wants to do besides criticize.”
For one thing, highly paid Mr. Downing left his comfortable expensive pad in New York to stick his nose in what are local crime preventing situations all over the U.S. You believe he flew into Jackson 2nd class and paid his own expenses?
I believe the two people shot just yesterday in Peoria were black Americans, correct me if I’m wrong and at 2:30 in the morning they were probably just watching television before getting ready to get an early start on their job.. It’s probable, the JS didn’t say. Then someone driving thru the neighborhood just decided to fire a few shots thru the window. Probably “whities” who of course would never be stopped driving around in the “hood” at 2:30 in the A. M.
All I suggest is that the City Council keeps an eye on Police Chief Melton, and if a position opens up again in Peoria, he should be one of the first people interviewed. He is my type of guy. I believe the spokesperson for the ACLU in Peoria is a guy named Wheeler. I occasionally glance at his negative comments on Roger Monroe. Wheeler is so far left I hear he won’t drive a car in England.
The JS reported on 6/31/06 that a 16 year old could get a forty year sentence for allegedly having 180 grams of cocaine and between 30 and 500 grams of marijuana in his possession. Was he profiled? The JSEB said recently, these felonies committing 16 year old kids are, after all, just kids. Insinuating that “boys will be boys” and they will grow out of it. Yes, many will and many won’t, just ask Sheriff McCoy. The same day the JS reported that a “snack attack” sends two boys ages 14 to 15 to jail for assaulting, beating and robbing a pizza delivery man. Maybe some profiling would have prevented the injury to the delivery man. But to the rescue would ride the ACLU and J.D. What a great politically correct world we live in!!
According to statistics in today’s Observer, crime is on a drastic rise in Peoria and moving further to the North Side. This week I took down the license number of a young man who appeared to be casing my neighborhood. Either that or he was checking up on his girlfriend. I suggest if more people did the same, we might slow down the saturation of the city by those who would rather mug, steal and kill than get a free education and do an honest day’s work.
Thumbs up to Chief Melton.
2 comments:
Pam Adams once wrote a column about "profiling". It had something to do with a local coach's car being stopped by the police. She felt that he was stopped unfairly because of race. Apparently, this group of policemen were stopping every fourth car for a routine check. The coach's car was car number four. Somehow it got turning into a profiling deal. I guess profiling in any way, shape or form is not a good thing.
So I hope the policemen are no longer stopping car number four, because THAT too, is considered profiling. Perhaps they should pick on car number one or two or even car number 27. (sigh)
Great article, but Frank is the Mayor. The Chief is Shirlene Anderson who worked for Frank when he was MS drug czar. And the tactics that he uses are being challenged by every Black politician in the city.
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