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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMass. High Court Says Black Men May Have Legitimate Reason To Flee Police
Black men who try to avoid an encounter with Boston police by fleeing may have a legitimate reason to do so and should not be deemed suspicious according to a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Citing Boston police data and a 2014 report by the ACLU of Massachusetts that found blacks were disproportionately stopped by the city's police, the states highest court on Tuesday threw out the gun conviction of Jimmy Warren.
Warren was arrested on Dec. 18, 2011, by police who were investigating a break-in in Roxbury. Police had been given a description of the suspects as three black men one wearing a red hoodie, one wearing a black hoodie and the other wearing dark clothing. An officer later spotted Warren and another man (both wearing dark clothing) walking near a park. When the officer approached the men, they ran. Warren was later arrested and searched. No contraband was found on him, but police recovered an unlicensed .22 caliber firearm in a nearby yard. Warren was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and later convicted.
In its ruling, the court made two major findings: They said police didnt have the right to stop Warren in the first place, and the fact that he ran away shouldnt be used against him.
....
On the second point, the court noted that state law gives individuals the right to not speak to police and even walk away if they arent charged with anything. The court said when an individual does flee, the action doesn't necessarily mean the person is guilty. And when it comes to black men, the BPD and ACLU reports documenting a pattern of racial profiling of black males in the city of Boston must be taken into consideration, the court said.
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Citing Boston police data and a 2014 report by the ACLU of Massachusetts that found blacks were disproportionately stopped by the city's police, the states highest court on Tuesday threw out the gun conviction of Jimmy Warren.
Warren was arrested on Dec. 18, 2011, by police who were investigating a break-in in Roxbury. Police had been given a description of the suspects as three black men one wearing a red hoodie, one wearing a black hoodie and the other wearing dark clothing. An officer later spotted Warren and another man (both wearing dark clothing) walking near a park. When the officer approached the men, they ran. Warren was later arrested and searched. No contraband was found on him, but police recovered an unlicensed .22 caliber firearm in a nearby yard. Warren was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and later convicted.
In its ruling, the court made two major findings: They said police didnt have the right to stop Warren in the first place, and the fact that he ran away shouldnt be used against him.
....
On the second point, the court noted that state law gives individuals the right to not speak to police and even walk away if they arent charged with anything. The court said when an individual does flee, the action doesn't necessarily mean the person is guilty. And when it comes to black men, the BPD and ACLU reports documenting a pattern of racial profiling of black males in the city of Boston must be taken into consideration, the court said.
....
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Mass. High Court Says Black Men May Have Legitimate Reason To Flee Police (Original Post)
Capt. Obvious
Sep 2016
OP
babylonsister
(171,072 posts)1. No kidding, Capt. Obvious.
Coolest Ranger
(2,034 posts)2. the klan members
carrying a badge not going to like that.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)3. Well this thread title is certainly
a good fit for your DU handle, Capt. Obvious.
It's good to hear that Me Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has decided to acknowledge the obvious. Now if the rest of the country will do so...
heaven05
(18,124 posts)4. YA THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
geez, tell me something I don't know.............
Nitram
(22,822 posts)5. I reached the same conclusion some time ago.
MynameisBlarney
(2,979 posts)6. Got this from Wonkette
?ig_cache_key=MTM0Mzg2MTUwMjgzMDAxOTI3Mw%3D%3D.2
malthaussen
(17,204 posts)7. That's nice.
I'm sure the corpse will be very happy he was justified.
Until we actually do something to discourage the police from executing citizens on their whim, it doesn't much matter what any court has to say.
-- Mal
phallon
(260 posts)8. Good beginning in suppressing police superiority.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)9. Your name here is perfect.
Cops? Oblivious...............