Thu, Nov 26 2009
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NAACP members talk to police about stops Attorney General Chris Koster reported on June 1 that the results of the statewide reports show that there has been an increasing trend of stopping black drivers since 2000 when the reports first were required.
The statewide disparity index is 1.59. Joplin’s is 2.0, though it’s only a tenth of a percent higher than last year while there were about 7,000 more stops than a year earlier. Roberts told the Joplin audience that crime is down 15 percent. He said the crime-rate decrease is attributable to having more officers on the street as a result of the public-safety sales tax, and officers being more vigilant and making more stops. But, he said, he does not want officers stopping anyone without reason. Several residents complained that people they know are repeatedly stopped and questioned about where they’re going and where they work. They also complained that some officers refused to give their names and badge numbers when asked by those they stop. “When somebody refuses to give you their name and badge number, you tell me,” the chief said. He said he knows there has historically been racist incidents by police officers. “If I catch them doing racial enforcement, they’re out of a job,” he said. Sensitivity He asked residents to help him train the department’s young officers to be sensitive to diversity, though he noted that officers may have legitimate reasons to stop or search people who think they were unfairly targeted. But, he said, that people who believe they were treated unfairly should call a police administrator with time and place of the incident so that supervisors can check out the officer’s actions. After the chief’s report and the question-and-answer session, several audience members said they were satisfied. Several people said former administrations did not visit with them about police issues. Asked how she felt about the chief and two other members of the department meeting with the group, Ernestine Carr said, “I think it’s great because we’re getting it face-to-face and not through someone else. It’s direct.” Another resident, Charlene Calhoun, told the chief about family and friends having been stopped without what she saw as good reason. “I’m glad because I got to tell them what I’m concerned about,” she said after the meeting. “It was good to have them come so we can understand why they do things the way they do.” 
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