A black St. Paul man whom police fatally shot during a traffic stop last week appears to have been previously cited by police at least 31 times while driving, raising questions about racial profiling practices in the suburban St. Anthony police department. Philando Castile, 32, had been accused by police of more than 50 violations in the two counties that encompass the suburb of Falcon Heights, where he was killed ― a record that stretches back to when he was 19, court records show.
The dozens of citations were for minor infractions that included speeding, improperly displaying a license plate and driving without proof of insurance; nearly half of the charges were eventually dismissed outright...
“We want people to know ‘driving while black’ has been an issue ― drivers pulled over for implicit bias,” Rashad Turner, an organizer with Black Lives Matter St. Paul, said last week. The NAACP of St. Paul estimates that 80 percent to 90 percent people pulled over by St. Anthony police in the Falcon Heights jurisdiction are “either African-American or native African” and are cited for minor infractions, according to chapter president Jeffry Martin...
Castile had no felony criminal record and was not wanted in connection with any crime.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/philando-castile-racial-profiling_us_5783e257e4b01edea78ef139
The dozens of citations were for minor infractions that included speeding, improperly displaying a license plate and driving without proof of insurance; nearly half of the charges were eventually dismissed outright...
“We want people to know ‘driving while black’ has been an issue ― drivers pulled over for implicit bias,” Rashad Turner, an organizer with Black Lives Matter St. Paul, said last week. The NAACP of St. Paul estimates that 80 percent to 90 percent people pulled over by St. Anthony police in the Falcon Heights jurisdiction are “either African-American or native African” and are cited for minor infractions, according to chapter president Jeffry Martin...
Castile had no felony criminal record and was not wanted in connection with any crime.
(Continued)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/philando-castile-racial-profiling_us_5783e257e4b01edea78ef139