As we as Nation are impacted by the increasing numbers of immigrants from foreign countries – many of them Brown and Black – it will become more and more imperative that police officers live up to the obligations of our Bill of Rights and respect for individual civil rights and protections, and become increasingly professional in their interactions with all of the citizens and residents in this Nation. Just because a person is Hispanic in appearance, the officer must not assume that he or she is illegally in this country. As we become more and more diverse, and even in the face of national security concerns about terrorism – we can not tolerate unwarranted profiling merely on the appearance of the individual – but must require our police officers to have objective facts before interfering with a person’s right to be left alone and free in his or her movement about and in our society. Police officers must make it clear that they reject any notion of assumptions or stereotyping of individuals based on race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, or religious affiliation, or any combination of these outward appearance traits and characteristics, for they do not communicate the depth of a person’s patriotism nor his or her commitment to a lawful and productive life.
Being part of the Solution
Updated: Jul 15, 2019