Here is a current St. Paul controversy that has received national attention thanks to the existence of YouTube:
"I was reminded of this while learning about a young black man who was accused of trespassing in St. Paul's skyway system while waiting for his kids. He was arrested, subdued with a Taser and hauled off to jail.
The incident came to light after charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process were dropped against Chris Lollie "in the interest of justice."
Lollie's post on YouTube of a cellphone video he took of his arrest has gone viral and attracted national attention, prompting the city's mayor to launch an investigation of the incident.
The police union has defended the actions of the veteran officers involved in the arrest. Lollie is contemplating a lawsuit."
http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_2646 ... -bias-that
I sent an email to Ruben Rosario and he promptly replied:
Tom: the crime rates are irrelevant to this incident unless the MAJORITY of blacks commit crimes, which is not the case. He was a working dad waiting for his kids and got targeted and hassled for no reason , then completely shamed, humiliated Tased and hauled off to jail for respectfully and correctly asserting his rights.
A cop got shot dead awhile ago and a man gunned down another man recently at a gas station and now a fugitive,, among other recent crimes all committed by whites.
Should I, or even a cop of color, execute an implicit bias then of someone that looks like them sitting in a public area of the skyway?
No. Don't think so.
Had that working dad been you, I think you would be looking at this a little differently.
But I appreciate you taking the time to write. take care.
Ruben Rosario
Columnist
St. Paul Pioneer Press
345 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
651 228-5454
http://www.twincities.com
On Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 7:08 AM, THOMAS J. BIETER <tbieter@aol.com> wrote:
Regarding your September 4 column, you omitted a significant fact from your theory: young Black and Hispanic males commit crimes at rates that are highly disproportionate to their numbers in the general population and relative to the crime rates of young White males.. The police officers who responded to the call from the security guard certainly had knowledge of these facts.
Nevertheless, the responding officers should have let Lollie go on his way. He was leaving the area. The situation prompting the security guard's call to police was trivial.
The incident could have been avoided if the security guard had overtly employed a commonly used law enforcement tool: surveillance of Lollie (definition: close observation, esp. of a suspected spy or criminal).
The overt surveillance of Lollie, as he sat, by the security guard would have been justified and would aid law enforcement.
Thomas J. Bieter
I intend to explore the controveray philosophically.
Your comments, after due diligence and reflection, will be appreciated.
Tom