Through the first seven months of 2015, the University of Cincinnati police force has issued three times as many citations to black people than to white people. Last week a white UCPD officer was indicted for shooting an unarmed black man during a traffic stop.
Handout . / Reuters
The practices of the university's police department have faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks, after UCPD Officer Ray Tensing shot and killed Sam DuBose, a 43-year-old unarmed black man, during a traffic stop half a mile from campus. Last week, a Hamilton County grand jury indicted Tensing on murder charges.
A multi-jurisdictional agreement among the county, the university, and local municipalities grants UCPD authority to stop, question, or arrest people off campus. Locals and UC students told BuzzFeed News that the school's police force became more aggressive with off-campus patrols after University of Cincinnati President Santa Ono announced in October 2013 an "effort to enhance and expand a visible police presence" in response to an uptick in robberies of students. UCPD off-campus patrols increased from four days a week to seven. The number of UCPD officers assigned to the off-campus detail increased from eight to thirteen. The result has been a steep rise in traffic stops, citations, and arrests by UCPD officers.
UCPD conducted 615 traffic stops in 2012, 1,453 in 2014, and 2,028 through the first seven months of 2015 but only recorded "demographic information" for those stops that ended in arrests or citations. UCPD issued 350 citations in 2012, 1,067 in 2014, and 1,920 through the first seven months of 2015.
The university is 70% white and 7% black. The zip code to the school's north is 66% white and 18% black. The zip code to the school's south, where Tensing pulled over DuBose, is 65% white and 27% black. And the city as a whole is 49% white and 45% black. Yet black people have received more three times as many UCPD citations as white people in 2015, and have been arrested more than twice as often.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1MImw9x
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