Police calls based on racial profiling need to stop

Brea Jones/Staff Writer

Recent social media testimonies have begun to shine a light on a commonand unfortunateoccurrence that has gone unnoticed for many years: police calls on people of color when they have done nothing to merit such action in the first place.

To better explain, take the most common scenario with most these cases: a person color is minding their own business while at a store or mall when suddenly, they’re confronted by police after phone calls have been made against them.

There have been a countless number of cases, six of which have gone viral in the past two weeks alone.

Of course, it is hard to pinpoint an exact reason for these phone calls. Some people have blamed police officers in such situations but it isn’t their fault, as it is their job to respond to calls.

In actuality, the people who are unnecessarily dialing 911 are the ones to blame. These cases are largely due to their assumptions about people of color or what some call “white fear.”

The term “white fear” refers to a white person being afraid of a person of color. In some cases, it is hard to determine if “white fear’” truly is the culprit.

A police officer stated that they frequently get calls about black men, women and even children walking down the street, as though it were truly a crime, according to The Washington Post.

In the case of Donisha Prendergast, Bob Marley’s granddaughter, police were called on her and her friend as they were checking out of their Airbnb location because the neighbor believed they were “acting suspiciously.”

The homeowner of the Airbnb later said that, “If the kids had simply smiled at [my neighbor] and waved back and acknowledged her… none of this would have ever happened.”

But it seems an unnecessary gesture for these ladies to take to avoid appearing as criminals. If they were minding their business and not doing anything illegal, then there shouldn’t have been a problem.

What these callers need to do is simple: stop.

If their irrational fear of people of color is causing them to constantly call the police, then they’re the problem, not their so-called “suspect.”

These people feed into the ludicrous narrative that people of color should be seen as dangerous criminals that need to be kept a close eye on at every moment.

In these situations, people of color feel belittled and afraid. These cases shouldn’t be happening, especially in this day and age. People of color shouldn’t need to be afraid to go outside because of the ignorance of others.

Even police are tired of these ridiculous calls, as it wastes valuable time and resources. Police officers feel as though these calls only make their job even more difficult, according to Afropunk.

The main thing that people need to keep in mind is that it is possible to take legal action against the callers.  

Currently every state has a different penalty for 911 misuse, but it is rare that the guilty party is actually reprimanded for the crime.

Police need to start issuing out tickets to the people who are abusing the 911 lines. If people were consistently punished for this behavior, then it will change.

When stories like this pop up on social media, we all think that these situations are tragic and should be stopped but never take any action for actual change.

We need to stop letting these situations be forgotten about. Society needs to start educating itself on different people, and dispel any prejudices it may hold against a particular group.

If we can eliminate the fear of the unknown, a massive improvement will soon follow.

 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo taken from Flickr.