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Mileena Raglin

Professor Loudermilk

ENG 1201

12 April 2019

Online Casebook

In my essay I attempted to answer the questions “How did this all begin”, “How can it be

stopped”, and “why law enforcement feel they need to shoot”. I wanted to do research on this

topic of racial profiling because I do come from an African American background and I believe

these incidents happen too often and they all seem to be the same story just with different people

involved.

Teasley, Martell Lee, et al. “Trayvon Martin: Racial Profiling, Black Male Stigma, and

Social Work Practice.” ​Social Work​, vol. 63, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 37–46. ​EBSCOhost​,

doi:10.1093/SW/SWX049.

Written January of 2018, The killing of Trayvon Martin as an unarmed black youth is one

of the most recent high profile cases in which questions of social justice are central to the

analysis. If you don’t know, August of 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin and subsequent

acquittal of George Zimmerman sent shock waves through America, once again elevating race

and racism as major topics for mass media debates in communities. Trayvon was a 17 year old

african american high school student at the time of his shooting. While walking down the street

after purchasing a bag of skittles and an arizona tea in Sanford FL, pursued by an armed

neighborhood watchman (George Zimmerman) who followed Trayvon because he noticed he

was “up to no good”. Going against police orders Zimmerman had ended up fatally wounding
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Trayvon and was charged with first degree murder. His actions led to not only state, but local

and national protests and had became a tipping point in our national dialogue on the racial

profiling of black men. In this article it reads on the social problems of racial profiling. Many

people have their own definition of racial profiling. Numerous studies have confirmed the

practice of racial profiling by law enforcement.

Sesardić, Neven1, sesardic@gmail.com. “Is Racial Profiling a Legitimate Strategy in the

Fight against Violent Crime?” ​Philosophia​, vol. 46, no. 4, Dec. 2018, pp. 981–999. ​EBSCOhost​,

doi:10.1007/s11406-018-9945-1.

In section III that I found it mentions racial profiling, police abuse, and disproportionate

screening. There are two common subjects combined with profiling as we define it: police abuse

and disproportionate screening of minorities. The “disproportionate” investigation of minorities

also tends to be mixed in with profiling. Two ideas of proportionality are relevant, in regards to

the goals of the investigation, and as fairness. In the first, a group will be investigated, if it’s

members are screened more (or less) than is useful for the investigation. In the second

investigation will be disproportionate if fairness, per say, in the distribution of burdens is

violated. Sometimes it is argued that there is a moral difference between using race as one of

many criteria for profiling and using it as the only criteria.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/15/racial-profiling-has-dest

royed-public-trust-in-police-cops-are-exploiting-our-weak-laws-against-it/?utm_term=.b95bc762

9a83

Written by Ranjana Natarajan a clinical professor of civil rights at the University of

Texas of Law. The #Blacklivesmatter movement has sparked nationwide protests and has raised
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awareness world wide about the unequal treatment of african american people by police in the

U.S. from listening to the voices from this movement and learning from not only the tragic 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 issues run afoul of

the United States constitution, but yet remain to be common practices in law enforcement, much

too often with tragic results. Racial profiling as well as profiling based on religion, ethnicity, and

national origin. There continues to be a plague to our nation with no regards to the constitutional

guarantee of equal treatment under the law. In a 2011 report the Leadership Conference on Civil

Rights found evidence of the 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. Profiling undermines

public safety and strains police community trust. When law enforcement target residents based

on race, religion or national origin rather than behavior, crime-fighting is less effective and

community distrust of police grows.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/11/us/everyday-racial-profiling-consequences-trnd/index.h

tml

Multiple headlines come up of African Americans going about their business doing

common day to day activities like shopping, moving in, or even walking in their neighborhood,

only to have the cops called on them. It happens a lot more than people think; In just this past

month or so, a golf course owner called the police on black women because they were playing

too slow. A mother called the police because two native american students made her “nervous”.

A white Yale student called the police because a black student was napping in a dorm building.
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For people of color everyday racial profiling is just one indignity piled atop another, many see it

as dehumanizing. Racial profiling is not just something that “may” happen once a day or so, but

multiple times a day, everyday. Minority groups that endure everyday discrimination often suffer

from health problems, its harder for people of color to get a job no matter their history/

background, and are often charged more along with Latino and Asian customers with higher car

interest rates than whites even if they have similar credit histories.

https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/racial-profiling

Racial profiling is a long standing and deeply troubling national problem despite claims

that the U.S. had entered a post-racial era. It occurs everyday, law enforcement and private

security target people of color for humiliating and often frightening detentions, interrogations,

and searches without evidence of criminal activity based on race, religion, ethnicity, or national

origin. It alienates communities from law enforcement, hinders community policing efforts, and

causes law enforcement to lose credibility and trust among the people they are sworn to protect

and serve.

https://www.saybrook.edu/unbound/think-of-calvin/

On March 17, 2013, Calvin Davis and Carlet Harris were put to the test when police

followed their at the time 15 year old son Montae riding his grandmothers adult tricycle around

the neighborhood in Washington D.C.. One officer openly complained that the conferentation

happened from lack of respect from the community. Growing up in their town as a minority the

interactions with the police were never positive, even when eight times out of ten you’ve done

nothing wrong, Calvin mentioned, He then proceeded to say how during the incident there had

been about maybe 20 to 30 police officers. During the arrest Calvin had asked to speak to the
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commanding officer who hadn’t said anything to him. Calvin had been charged with assault on a

police officer, a guy who works at children's hospital. Video was taken during the incident that

showed no assault, but his lawyer of the case wanted him to take a plea deal that was given and

do community service even with the video. The way the law is written in regards to assault on an

officer it could be used. The lawyer told him “It’s going to be your work against a police officer's

word.”.