Wednesday, March 31, 2004
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Wednesday, March 31, 2004 |
| Ban on racial profiling stuck in Ga. Senate By JOHN MUNFORD A bill that would ban racial profiling by police in Georgia and require data to be kept on traffic stops by officers is close to dying because it is stuck in a committee not scheduled to meet again this year. The bill passed the House two weeks ago after gaining support from Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray, according to Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, who sponsored the bill. The bill is now languishing in the Senate’s public safety and homeland security committee, said Sen. Gloria Butler, D-Clarkston. Murray, whose department monitors officers to insure they are not using racial profiling techniques, is strongly in favor of the bill. He wrote a letter Monday asking the committee chairman to let the bill move forward to a Senate vote. “Please do not listen to individuals who would like noting better than to have this bill fall by the wayside so they cannot be held accountable for their actions,” Murray wrote. “The state of Georgia has come a long way in leading the struggle to protect and guard the civil rights of all citizens. This bill is a major cornerstone to project Georgia law enforcement into the 21st century. You hold the key to get it there.” Murray testified at two recent legislative hearings about his department’s experience with monitoring officers to make sure racial profiling isn’t taking place. “I was surprised to learn Chief Murray is already doing what this law requires,” Brooks said. The Peachtree City Police Department requires officers to fill out a separate form for each traffic stop made, regardless of whether a citation or warning is given. On that form, the race and sex of the motorist is noted, and the information is later entered into a computer database. Officers are monitored on a daily basis to insure they are not pulling over drivers based on their skin color, Murray said. The department also monitors how many women and men officers pull over, Murray added. Brooks said he was surprised to learn about Peachtree City’s racial profiling tracking system. A similar system is also used by the Fayetteville Police Department, which also monitors the race and sex of motorists whether they are issued citations or warnings. Fayetteville conducts a monthly review of the statistics for each officer on the road and also figures the average age of the persons that officer pulled over, said Lt. Beverly Trainor. Fayetteville police also do a year-end tally and compare citations to warnings, she said. Murray said the Peachtree City police department has had its anti-racial profiling system for three years “because it was the right thing to do.” He also said the bill is the most important civil rights-related legislation since the legislation that created Miranda warnings. Murray said several lawmen he has spoken to said they would support the bill privately but not publicly “for fear of being found outside the inner circle.” “My question is if you don’t want to collect the data, why?” Murray said, noting that some oppose the 30-40 seconds it takes to fill out another form on each traffic stop. The Georgia Sheriff’s Association and the Georgia Department of Public Safety have opposed the bill, Murray said. After learning of the bill’s hang-up in the Senate, Murray wrote Sen. Rooney L. Bowen, chairman of the Senate’s public safety committee. Butler is trying to carry the bill through the Senate. She said her only hope now was to find a bill she could attach it to so it can be considered by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Brooks credited passage of the bill to Chief Murray’s testimony at the Capitol. Brooks said the bill, cosponsored by Republican Warren Massey, received bipartisan support in the House. Murray was joined by Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett in supporting the racial profiling bill. The new system would help exonerate officers falsely accused of racial profiling, Brooks said. He also noted the bill allows law enforcement agencies to have input on determining how the information is collected, such as on the traffic citation itself or on a separate form. “We want the chiefs, sheriffs and all law enforcement officers to have input into designing that format,” Brooks said. Brooks also noted that President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft have spoken against racial profiling tactics and he hopes the Republican-controlled Senate will follow their lead and pass the bill. The bill would also “improve our reputation and dismiss any notion that officers in Georgia are profiling persons because of their race or ethnicity,” Brooks said. Members of the Legislative Black Caucus have expressed disappointment the bill has not yet passed the Senate, Brooks said. A similar bill died in the legislature in 2000 after it passed the Senate but died on the House floor in the last day of the session, Brooks said.
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