February 5, 2014
ST. LOUIS, MO — Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri released copies of three anonymous letters from a police officer that detail allegations of racial profiling by a former police lieutenant. The ACLU of Missouri obtained the records in a Sunshine Law suit against St. Louis County, which had previously refused to release the records.
“These are public records, and the public has a right to view them,” said Tony Rothert, Legal Director for the ACLU of Missouri. “Missouri’s Sunshine Law entitles citizens to see the allegations of racial profiling and draw their own conclusions. Government records suggesting that law enforcement officials might be breaking the law should not be kept secret or hidden from scrutiny.”
The letters accuse a supervisor of “continuously push[ing] his patrol officers to stop African Americans because they ‘Do not belong here!’” and making comments such as “Let’s have a Black Day today,” “Stop everybody with a tan,” and “Stop everybody Black at the mall.” The letters also alleged that the accused supervisor was allowed to interview patrol officers about the allegations against him.
“The allegations made in these letters are troubling and, unfortunately, are consistent with the perception that racial profiling by the police continues in parts of Missouri,” said Jeffrey A. Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Missouri. “The ACLU will follow up on the allegations. In the meantime, St. Louis County could begin to restore confidence by making public its investigation of this matter.”
“It is an unfortunate fact that in the United States there is a strong correlation between race and the unequal treatment of racial minorities at every stage of the criminal justice continuum, which can all begin with a discretionary decision by a law enforcement official to target a person because of his or her skin color,” said Rothert. “If there is evidence this racial profiling is encouraged by high-ranking police officials, then that is something the public needs to know.”
The ACLU-MO Foundation is a non-partisan, not-for-profit membership 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to defending and expanding the constitutional rights and civil liberties of all Missourians guaranteed by the U.S. and Missouri Constitutions, and is an affiliate of the national ACLU.
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