Thread: GA-Are terror, unchecked police profiling rampant in Cobb?

Are terror, unchecked police profiling rampant in Cobb?
by Don McKee
ColumnistOctober 16, 2009 01:00 AM | 108 views
Don McKee


"Terror and isolation" are holding sway in Cobb County with "unchecked police power" running "rampant" in racial profiling - according to the leftist group American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

These ugly accusations are the theme of a report by the ACLU which asserts: "Cobb County residents who appear to be foreign-born have been subjected to rampant racial profiling and are routinely picked up by the police for minor or nonexistent violations."

The "minor or nonexistent violations" included 2,180 arrests for traffic violations, out of 3,180 detainees turned over to federal authorities for deportation, to cite from guest columnist Azadeh N. Shashahani of the ACLU in Thursday's MDJ.

An illegal immigrant being arrested for a traffic violation is now "racial profiling" in Cobb, according to the ACLU.

Omitted from all the scare talk was the fact that the second highest offense to traffic violations was drunken driving. Apparently, following the ACLU line, in Cobb if a driver is drunk but doesn't fit the "profile," then he or she is not arrested.

So what about the four murder suspects, 10 alleged rapists and 27 suspected child molesters who were among the persons detained in Cobb for ICE since 2007? Victims of this rampant racial profiling?

Sheriff Neil Warren dismissed the "terror," "unchecked police power" and "rampant racial profiling" hyperbole.

"We are not profiling," Warren said, pointing out that no formal complaints of such activity has been received by his department.

The ACLU's report discovering the virtual state of emergency in Cobb came a day before Warren signed a new agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for training and authorization to "identify, process and when appropriate, detain immigration offenders," per the sheriff's office.

Since implementing this program known as 287(g) in July 2007, the Cobb sheriff's office has identified more than 6,600 illegal immigrants taken into custody. But to the ACLU, this represents law enforcement run amok with profiling, not enforcement of the laws of the United States. What tommyrot.

The law is a most inconvenient thing for the ACLU and fellow travelers. As Cobb Police Chief G. B. Hatfield told the MDJ: "We follow Georgia law, and the law's very clear - if you get stopped for any violation, you must have a valid driver's license."

It comes down to common sense as well as law enforcement. Hatfield said if a driver is stopped by an officer and does not have a valid driver's license and cannot establish residency or identity, the officer can't just write a ticket and let the driver drive off.

Hatfield, whose department makes most of the arrests under discussion, said he has told special interest groups to let him know of "any instances of bias" so they can be investigated. He has received one complaint from a Latino group in about two years.

"We do not tolerate profiling," he said.

This is not about racial profiling. It is about breaking the law.

dmckee9613@aol.com




http://www.mdjonline.com/pages/full_sto ... eft_column

Goodness...if you were to remove the term "racial profiling" as a means to silence dissent...what would the ACLU and Jerry do?

Answer: They would have to shut up and go home.