Having read that Black and Latino drivers were stopped at a much higher rate than Whites, and yet they were much less likely to find evidence of crime, is a clear sign that racial profiling is very wrong. I think it goes to show that white people are only pulled over when they are clearly doing something illegal or suspicious. On the other hand, minorities have to fear being pulled over, or stopped and frisked, for the way they look. Not only are they stopped but there have been far too many deaths of unarmed black people, specifically young people.

With Facebook Live, and people filming these horrific events, more people than ever are realizing the issues with policing. The relationship between the police and the black community is strained. There is so much tension. I am a white woman; I don’t have to fear that the police are out to get me. They need to every day. Instead of thinking that the police want to protect them, they are unfairly targeted as criminals. This issue is so difficult because cops need to know that they can protect themselves, but they also need to learn when their unconscious bias is causing them to see things that aren’t there, like a weapon. On a daily basis, officers need to use intuition and logic. A feeling that someone is suspicious should not be based on someone’s skin color.

I’m realizing more and more that there are no simple solutions to these issues. We need to profile, in some capacity, to be safe, and act intelligently. We are constantly judging people based on appearances, age, gender etc. to decide whether we are in a safe or dangerous situation or with dangerous people. However, the gut feeling that cops are following, that people of color are more suspicious, is incorrect. There needs to be extensive training for cops to learn how to pick up on actual suspicious activity, and how to proceed with things without the situation escalating. When documenting the “stop and frisk”, they should have to describe the suspicious activity. It can’t just be a feeling based on the race of the individual.