Residents gather to protest racial profiling

July 31, 2007
BY NICHOLAS ALAJAKIS nalajakis@scn1.com
WAUKEGAN -- Black and Hispanic residents gathered at the City Hall Monday afternoon to object to what they say is racial profiling by the city's police department.

Waukegan police have been profiling minorities in the city for too long, said Chris Blanks, with the Blacks Abolition Movement for the Mind.

» Click to enlarge image

Gustavo Flores (right) and others gathered at Waukegan City Hall Monday. Flores claims he was racially profiled by the Waukegan police.
(Andre J. Jackson/News-Sun)
"We've seen them abuse and misuse their power," Blanks told a small crowd that assembled between City Hall and the police department.

The assembly was triggered by a July 16 arrest of Waukegan resident Gustavo Flores, who claims he was stopped by police because of the color of his skin.

Flores, 36, a nine-year resident of the city, who is in the country illegally, was pulling in the CVS pharmacy parking lot at the intersection of Washington Street and Green Bay Road around 10 a.m. that day, when an officer stopped him to talk.

The officer, later identified as John Fong, asked him if the Dodge Caravan he stepped out of was his, Flores said. After telling the officer it was, Fong told him he was going to arrest him, Flores told the crowd.

The reason for approaching him, say Waukegan police, is because officers were checking license plates on the road, and Flores' registration showed he had a warrant for his arrest, and no valid license.

"The case isn't racial profiling, it's just good police work," said Waukegan Deputy Chief Mark McCormick. "It's standard police work. Every department does it."

Flores said he understands that the computer showed a 2003 warrant for failure to appear for not having insurance, but he thinks that the only reason his license plate was run though the system in the first place, was because he's Hispanic.

"If I'm not this color, I would not be stopped," Flores said. "These officers will do anything to pull you over."

Flores' situation is not unique Blanks said. BAMM has heard from a number of people who relate similar stories. And in recent weeks, his organization has collected 1,100 signatures from Waukegan residents who claim they've been profiled at least once from the city's officers.

"This is just the iceberg," Blanks said.


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