LANSING - Guy Stockard says he knows what it’s like to be targeted because of the color of his skin.
“I feel like I’m an expert on this thing - I’ve been dealing with it for 20 years,” the Lansing resident said. “I’m 35 years old, and I could bring 100 guys in here that could give you a personal story. We know this is a national problem.
“I don’t want (my son) to have to deal with this.”
And he’s not alone.
About 40 community members gathered Sunday at the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 333, 5405 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., for a forum to discuss a new plan to stop racial profiling in the Lansing Police Department. The plan is being developed by two consultants hired by the department for a total $48,000 - David Carter, an MSU criminal justice professor and Andra Bannister, a criminal justice professor at Wichita State University in Kansas.
Carter said racial profiling can eventually be stopped once policy is implemented and officers understand what is required of them.
“One of the key elements is retraining all officers,” he said. “Retraining in terms of what we’re looking at is resocialization. It’s not going to happen easily or quickly, but it takes a place to start.”
A similar forum was held Saturday at the Cristo Rey Community Center, 1717 N. High St.
Lansing police Chief Mark Alley said the development of the program is unique because it does not solely consist of gathering data. They also take community response into account.
“(We thought) it would be good to get input from the community and our officers on this plan,” he said. “(Saturday) we had a little over 20 people (at the forum). The quality of the discussion was outstanding.
“This information will give us manageable direction on where we need to go. In general, people are very happy we’re looking into this.”
Alley said the plan, which is set to go into effect around the beginning of next year, will entail developing a mechanism for collecting data at traffic stops and will include an analysis at some point.
“We want to make sure that officers are aware that everybody has biases and prejudices,” he said. “We just want to make sure that doesn’t come into play when they make decisions.”
Racial profiling is a big problem, said Christie Karn, a second-year education student at Lansing Community College.
“There’s just a lot of people with experience with this,” she said. “It is a problem because there have been lots of examples of it. I think there is a need for a change.”
Wilda Jackson, who is Hispanic, has been married to Aaron Jackson, a black man, for many years and says she continually experiences racial profiling while driving with her husband and children.
“They ask him for his license, then they look at me and ask, ‘Are you all right? Are you here on your own (will)?’” said Wilda Jackson, a Lansing resident. “Something needs to be done.”
