News / Human Rights

FBI director admits US police racially biased

Friday, 13 February 2015 7:37 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 13 February 2015 7:42 AM ]

FBI director James Comey

The FBI director has admitted racial bias exists among US police officers, saying there is a “disconnect” between police and people of color.

Speaking at Georgetown University on Thursday, James Comey said, “There’s a disconnect between law-enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.”

He explained that a police officer, whether “white or black,” reacts entirely differently to two young black men on the side of a street than he does to two white men.

Because "the two young black men on one side of the street look like so many others that officer has locked up," he said.

He cited the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” from the Broadway musical “Avenue Q”, quoting the lyrics, “no one’s really colorblind.”

There's been a flare-up of racial tensions in the US, following the killing of several African Americans by white police officers who were not indicted.

Protests have been ongoing for months across the US against police violence and racial profiling.

Ferguson has been the scene of violent clashes between police and protesters since the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9, 2014. He was shot multiple times and killed by a white policeman.

Comey said not long after the protests began in Ferguson, Missouri, he asked his staff to provide statistics on the number of African Americans shot by police.

“It’s ridiculous that I can’t tell you how many people were shot by the police in this country,” because data regarding officer-involved shootings is not consistently reported to the FBI.

Based on a recent study by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, 313 black people were killed in 2012 by police officers, private security guards and members of the public and in most cases, the perpetrator was not indicted.

SB/GJH

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