Friday, November 14, 2003

Missed Conclusion on Traffic Stop Data

Well, no one can prove much of anything from the analysis of the traffic stop data made public today. One point that this story reports sums up one conclusion that was missed from the beginning:
Scott Greenwood, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said the report wasn't intended to provide the yes-or-no answer many Cincinnatians have looked for since the 2001 riots put police-community relations at the top of the city's agenda.

"The issue is not, and never has been, whether white officers deliberately discriminate against African-American motorists out of racial animus," he said. "The discussion is whether race is used inappropriately - at whatever level - in policing decisions."
The bold was added for emphasis. I think this point is not clear to most people. The ACLU never claimed there was a "racist" plot to target blacks. I think some of the folks on the Buzz should be reporting this fact and not do what I think they were doing this afternoon, which had been a bit of race bating. Jay and Emmanuel are in my opinion pushing their unsubstantiated claims that the real problem is racism. This report clear proves one thing. There is not a grand "Elder/KKK" plot to target blacks in this city. If there was a huge plot, one might think the numbers would show this grand plot without question.

The positive quote from the article that I hope everyone read and strives to keep as a reality
Other findings suggested no unequal treatment: Stop durations were almost identical, after factoring in that vehicles driven by African-Americans were more likely to have more passengers. Black and white motorists were equally likely to have their cars searched, and the probability of finding drugs or guns was almost identical.
If this element was not reasonably balanced, then we would have a real problem.

I wonder why people in Damon Lynch's camp wanted this keep under wraps before the election? Is it because the report was not the smoking-gun they hoped for and the lack of a zinger to hit the police with would have been a political blow to his campaign?

UPDATE: Wholly Shit. Did the Post read the same report? If you read their story we are headed towards a race war. What gives? I can't find the actually report online yet.

Move Coverage: WCPO, WLWT, and AP.

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