Gates Controversy Spurs Race-Police Discussion in Nevada
July’s arrest of African-American Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., by a Caucasian police officer reinvigorated the debate about whether racial bias influences police behavior. Two weeks ago, several police departments in Nevada held a candid panel discussion at Las Vegas City Hall on the issue.
Although officers conceded that some police harbored a bias, they assured the audience they’re doing everything to counteract it. Furthermore, some drug crime in Nevada statistics that appear to be the result of racial profiling are completely innocent: The fact that more minorities than Caucasians are incarcerated for crack cocaine is simply because it’s a drug crime in Nevada more frequently committed by minorities. (Caucasians, on the other hand, more frequently commit possession of powder cocaine, which carries less severe penalties.)
Other discussions and workshops on the controversy of racial profiling by police officers are being organized by the NAACP. The next one will be sometime in November.
