Police probe claim of racial profiling

By Admin on March 19, 2010

A group of people in their 20s who were ticketed by a Chicago police officer this week on the West Side claim they recorded him making statements indicating their stop was racial profiling, WGN-TV is reporting.

The people said they were stopped near 25th Street and Albany Avenue Tuesday night because of tinted windows on their car, and they recorded the officer on a cell phone.

When the driver complained about being stopped, the officer used profanity and made comments indicating that stops sometimes are made for racial reasons. He also said that officers get overtime for appearing in court whether a defendant is found not guilty or convicted, said the sources, who spoke on the WGN-TV report without being identified.

Three tickets were issued during the Tuesday night stop, for a suspended license, no insurance and not using a seat belt. The driver told WGN-TV he could understand the tickets but not the comments.

The Chicago Police Department has begun an investigation into the allegations and the officer has been put on desk duty, according to the report.

“The manner in which the officer and subject interacted was unacceptable,” Police Supt. Jody Weis said in a prepared statement. “Officers are trained and expected to deal with these situations in a professional manner, free of unnecessary sarcasm.”

–Staff report

Click HERE for the WGN-TV report on this story.

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