Retired New York Cop Admits to Racial Profiling
[Guest post by Jack Dunphy]
Former NYPD Detective Jake McNicholas confessed in the New York Daily News last Sunday:
I used a person’s race to initiate investigations and make subsequent arrests. In fact, according to the definition bandied about by those on the left who have no idea what they are talking about nor a clue when it comes to police work, I was – yes – a racial profiler.
Sounds shocking, doesn’t it? But you have to read the whole thing.
–Jack Dunphy
Read the whole thing? Oh no. Much easier to condemn him without context.
In fact, I am already denouncing him.
Comment by Scott Jacobs — 8/6/2009 @ 10:21 pm
I have always said that profiling is smart police work. It’s smart at airport security. By adding the modifier “racial” it suddenly becomes toxic. Why? Because we live in a world gone mad with political correctness. All PC does is stifle speech and monitor thought.
Whenever I am called a racist, I always respond, “Hell yeah, I’m a racist…I love NASCAR!”
Comment by Gazzer — 8/6/2009 @ 11:05 pm
#2
Funny and spot on!
Comment by Thomas Jackson — 8/6/2009 @ 11:10 pm
Shocking? No. But crime-fighting isn’t simply a matter of catching the bad guys. It also requires officers to set an example by following the law themselves, which includes not arresting civilians based on skin color.
I hate hearing officers try to justify misconduct in the name of expediency. Apart from exposing the department to civil liability, they do not realize how it validates the beliefs of those who see the police as just another gang, some of whom may end up on the jury.
Comment by SCLAW — 8/6/2009 @ 11:23 pm
Saw this over at Hot Air and am delighted to see it here – great piece. Thanks for posting.
Comment by no one you know — 8/7/2009 @ 4:57 am
sclaw, did you read the article?
Comment by quasimodo — 8/7/2009 @ 6:58 am
According to SCLAWs’ logic only a black LEO can arrest a black suspect. Or a hispanic LEO a hispanic suspect.
Comment by Thomas — 8/7/2009 @ 7:44 am
An excellent article. And the comments at that site are funny indeed. One of them wrote:
It never ceases to amaze me at how people will read things with blinders on. Where did the officer write he was judging someone based on their color. He said he used race, demeanor and location to determine if someone would be stopped. Not arrested. And quite often, it worked.
Comment by Corwin — 8/7/2009 @ 8:19 am
Gazzer has it about right…
Because of PC, we conduct theatre at airport security, the Israeli’s actually catch/prevent terrorism without inconveniencing the great majority of El Al’s customers world-wide,
and those of other airlines operating in and out of Israel’s airports.
Comment by AD - RtR/OS! — 8/7/2009 @ 9:41 am
Greetings:
Here’s my contribution to the racial profiling “debate”.
Several years ago, on one of my internet safaris, I came across the US Department of Justice’s web site. In looking over the murder statistics, I discovered that a white person had a 3-4 times the probability of being murdered by a black person than a black person had of being murdered by a white person. This was a straight murder to murder comparison, unadjusted for the disparity in the size of the groups in the overall population.
Since that time, I have seen this observation mentioned just one time in the mainstream media and that was by Michael Barone in US News & World Report.
Comment by 11B40 — 8/7/2009 @ 10:36 am
Comment by 11B40 — 8/7/2009 @ 10:36 am
Inconvenient truths are easily overlooked by the Left.
Comment by AD - RtR/OS! — 8/7/2009 @ 10:58 am
#6, yes, I read the article. I would expect that a lot of defense attorneys and civil lawyers in NY did too, and will seek to depose Mr. McNicholas concerning the racial profiling that he and other officers supposedly engaged in.
Based on his own account, I don’t believe he has enough race-neutral facts (e.g. out-of-state license plate) to support reasonable suspicion for a detention, let alone probable cause for an arrest. In his own words, “We looked for white people.” That’s his ultimate justification. I wish he had mentioned it when he wrote his reports, rather than now jeopardizing every case he’s ever worked on à la Rafael Perez.
Comment by SCLAW — 8/7/2009 @ 1:22 pm
But…But…How can Whites be victim’s of Racial Profiling?
Isn’t discrimination only something that can be imposed by the White Power Structure upon Minorities?
Comment by AD - RtR/OS! — 8/7/2009 @ 1:26 pm
A couple of things.
1. He didn’t say he pulled over white drivers, he said he observed them and gathered additional facts first. This is different.
2. No one complains about this sort of profiling because no one really cares. White people get hassled driving through the ghetto? That’s unfortunate but doesn’t have much additional problem.
But most of the good school, jobs and stores are in predominately white places and getting pulled over every couple of weeks just because you’re a brown dude driving home from the better night school / job / grocery store sucks. It makes it harder to get a better job/education.
Comment by time123 — 8/7/2009 @ 5:56 pm