The Continuing Abuse of Zero Tolerance policy

Zero Tolerance initiative continues its abuses of people of color. Last night (Tuesday, April 29th) an ARM (Rochester's Anti-Racism Movement) member was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after questioning officers who were racially profiling his 16-year-old brother and assuming him "suspicious of dealing drugs" when he got out of a car on his way into Extreme Graphics with his brother, saw a friend and gave him a cultural handshake familiar among black males.

Jordan Brown, a 21-year-old ARM member, came out of the store noticing that his brother Stephen Strachan was not right behind him but was being patted down by police outside who refused to answer why they were converging on his younger brother. Instead, he was told they shouldn't be in the drug infested bad neighborhood. When Jordan challenged the officer for making discriminating statements demonizing an entire community of people he was verbally abused and ordered to shut up and stay back. When he insisted on an explanation for profiling his 16-year-old brother he was called a smart ass, thrown against the car and taken downtown and charged with disorderly conduct. Ironically, these cops then decided to pat down every black male that was following Jordan in a second car, finding nothing. Sadly, there was no drug deal happening, no drugs or alcohol present on any of these young men that warranted the stop and the way they were treated and subsequently "put through the system."

ARM has been an opponent of refunding of Zero Tolerance because of repeated racial redlining and abuses of ordinary citizens of color in vulnerable neighborhoods. They recently, (a week ago) spoke out at a City Council meeting drawing attention to the abuses reported by over 100 citizens at a December 19th Speak Out on the initiative. These are sad times in Rochester when a quiet tolerance for racial abuse, redlining and mistreatment of people of color has become acceptable by the powers that be. It is not clear whether the resistance to deal with this issue is connected to fear of backlash or racial philosophies about what people of color should have to endure to obtain public safety. Nonetheless, ARM expects Mayor Duffy and Chief Moore to address this issue and stop asking tax paying people of color to pay for their own abuse.

Myra Brown, ARM
Source: http://www.minorityreporter.net/web_edition/May_3_2008/May_3_2008.pdf