Ferguson Fake Out

[WillBrink]

Lott on the DOJ report via the NY Post:

Ferguson fake out justice departments bogus report

Addressing the nation from Selma, Ala., on Saturday, President Obama said that while racism may be “no longer endemic,” as it was 50 years ago, his Justice Department’s report on Ferguson shows that the “nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us.”

Sorry: The Justice report doesn’t prove disparate treatment, let alone discrimination.

In fact, it looks more like something ginned up to distract from the embarrassing fact that Justice (in another report released the same day) wound up fully validating the findings of the Ferguson grand jury.

Racism is serious, and those engaging in it should be shamed — but we should have real evidence before accusing others of it. And every one of the Justice report’s main claims of evidence of discrimination falls short.

Starting with the primary numerical claim. The report notes on Page 4: “Ferguson’s law-enforcement practices overwhelmingly impact African-Americans.

“Data collected by the Ferguson Police Department from 2012 to 2014 shows that African-Americans account for 85 percent of vehicle stops, 90 percent of citations, and 93 percent of arrests made by FPD officers, despite comprising only 67 percent of Ferguson’s population.”

Those statistics don’t prove racism, because blacks don’t commit traffic offenses at the same rate as other population groups.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2011 Police-Public Contact Survey indicates that, nationwide, blacks were 31 percent more likely than whites to be pulled over for a traffic stop.

Ferguson is a black-majority town. If its blacks were pulled over at the same rate as blacks nationally, they’d account for 87.5 percent of traffic stops.

In other words, the numbers actually suggest that Ferguson police may be slightly less likely to pull over black drivers than are their national counterparts. They certainly don’t show that Ferguson is a hotbed of racism.

Critics may assert that that “31 percent more likely” figure simply shows that racism is endemic to police forces nationwide.

Hmm: The survey also reveals that men are 42 percent more likely than women to be pulled over for traffic stops. Should we conclude that police are biased against men, or that men drive more recklessly?

Cont:

http://nypost.com/2015/03/09/ferguso...-bogus-report/

[223to45]

Starting with the primary numerical claim. The report notes on Page 4: “Ferguson’s law-enforcement practices overwhelmingly impact African-Americans.

With a town that is at least 70% black ( cant remember actual number), how you can you not ??

[WillBrink]

With a town that is at least 70% black ( cant remember actual number), how you can you not ??

Little facts like that are of no interest to those with an agenda. Like the fact gun ownership went up while murder rates dropped in past decades in the states, etc, etc.

That "don't confuse us with the facts" approach.

[Abraham]

Perhaps, the white police in Ferguson should simply start a search for LEO jobs elsewhere.

Ultimately, management could fill all LEO spots with an all black police force and see how well that works out.

Maybe, then some of the complaints of racism would stop, but I'd bet not...as I've heard (crazy as it may sound) blacks referring to other blacks as racists when they get arrested by a black LEO...

[WillBrink]

Perhaps, the white police in Ferguson should simply start a search for LEO jobs elsewhere.

Ultimately, management could fill all LEO spots with an all black police force and see how well that works out.

Maybe, then some of the complaints of racism would stop, but I'd bet not...as I've heard (crazy as it may sound) blacks referring to other blacks as racists when they get arrested by a black LEO...

Not called racists per se but "Uncle Toms" and the like is most common if the LEO is black. Or so my black LE friends tell me as in "this Uncle Tom is still taking your sorry ass to jail"

[Abraham]

Or, Ferguson could simply do without a police force and see how that works out for them...

[WillBrink]

Or, Ferguson could simply do without a police force and see how that works out for them...

I have thought of that myself well before this event. If the majority of the population feels the po po does them no good, etc, etc, then they should vote to opt out. That also means, when someone is kicking your door in to rob you, etc, there will be no response to your 911 call. Those who bitch the most about the po po often can't find that phone fast enough to dial 911 when something happens to them. "Sorry, your town voted to opt out of the 911 emergency system. You're on your own, and good luck"

Never happen in our utopia, with liability and all that, but it would allow police to focus on those locations and populations who fully understand the Thin Blue Line is not a metaphor.

That does not mean they are perfect, or that they don't mess up, or that they should be able to run ruff shot over Const. Rights, or they should not be judged by 12 when they break the law, but the rule of law is the only thing that keeps a society stable and functional.

[Abraham]

"but the rule of law is the only thing that keeps a society stable and functional."

I'm so sorry. That rule of law thing is much too difficult for so many to grasp, until as you pointed out so clearly that when something happens to "them" - bam, 911 is dialed on warp speed...freaking hypocrites!

[sevenhelmet]

I have thought of that myself well before this event. If the majority of the population feels the po po does them no good, etc, etc, then they should vote to opt out. That also means, when someone is kicking your door in to rob you, etc, there will be no response to your 911 call. Those who bitch the most about the po po often can't find that phone fast enough to dial 911 when something happens to them. "Sorry, your town voted to opt out of the 911 emergency system. You're on your own, and good luck"

Never happen in our utopia, with liability and all that, but it would allow police to focus on those locations and populations who fully understand the Thin Blue Line is not a metaphor.

That does not mean they are perfect, or that they don't mess up, or that they should be able to run ruff shot over Const. Rights, or they should not be judged by 12 when they break the law, but the rule of law is the only thing that keeps a society stable and functional.

I respectfully disagree. The job of the police is to provide a law-enforcement presence for ALL citizens of the nation-state, uniting them under a common law, regardless of how one segment of the population might react. Allowing citizens to "opt out" would mean the nation-state effectively ceased to exist, as there is no longer any impetus for all citizens to live by the same laws. Put another way, rule of law is only rule of law because it is not optional. What about all the taxpayers who didn't vote to "opt out" with the rest of their town? You're basically taking things from one extreme to the other, causing further divide among the population. It could likely start a civil war.

Fergusen represents a horrendous failure of leadership on all levels up to POTUS. Their lives have become so comfortable, that people often forget we are all one country, especially when politicians make a living by being deliberately divisive, and the media makes a living telling us why we should be scared of each other. They forget that our government was set up to:

-Establish Justice
-Provide for the common defense
-Promote (not ensure) the general welfare

Sound familiar? Just because Fergusen, the DOJ, and the White House are populated by a bunch of a-holes who love to inflame situations and disregard the Constitution doesn't make the basic theory of government disappear.

[Averageman]

Maybe an independent fact check would be in order?
Not only are these guys being fired or leaving I would imagine it is unlikely that another department would be willing to take them on. Once you have the scarlet letter R attached to your name in any sort of public service you're through. Just stick a fork in it, no more career.
If you are willing to just let Holders numbers ride, then you're saying no one had any oversight on that department either at the local or state level. I just don't think in this day and age that's possible.
I think when the Justice Department didn't get the results they wanted from the G.J. the Justice Department investigated the shooting themselves. When that didn't work they looked in to the records and when that didn't work they brought in someone to adjust the numbers statistically.
Holder didn't get what he wanted simply because what he wanted wasn't there, when that failed he was out for blood.