[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 11552-11554] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EXPOSING RACISM ______ HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON of mississippi in the house of representatives Thursday, May 27, 1999 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, in my continuing efforts to document and expose racism in America, I submit the following articles into the Congressional Record. ____ Reports: State Officials Will Admit That Racial Profiling Exists Trenton, N.J. (AP).--State law enforcement officials this week will grudgingly admit that state troopers unfairly target minority motorists, according to published reports. Officials in Gov. Christie Whitman's administration told several newspapers that a report prepared by the Attorney General's office will acknowledge that some troopers have engaged in the practice known as racial profiling. The same officials said the state will drop its appeal of a 1996 court decision asserting that troopers demonstrated race bias in making arrests along the New Jersey Turnpike in Gloucester County. Attorney General Peter Verniero's office said his findings on the State Police's training and practices are due out Tuesday or Wednesday. The report is expected to confirm what civil rights activists said they have known for years. ``Racial profiling is the worst-kept secret in New Jersey,'' Black Ministers Council of New Jersey executive director Rev. Reginald Jackson told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Tuesday's editions. ``I don't think anybody reasonable will say that it doesn't happen.'' State Police leaders have consistently argued that the agency does not engage in racial profiling. The issue cost State Police Superintendent Col. Carl Williams his job earlier this year and threatens to impact the political fate of both Whitman, who is expected to run for the U.S. Senate, and Verniero, who has been nominated for the state Supreme Court. State officials face a Wednesday deadline to decide if they want to continue their appeal of the 1996 decision in state Superior Court in Gloucester County. The court decision, which could affect dozens of pending criminal cases, found evidence of racial profiling. The newspaper reports come one day after state officials announced official misconduct indictments against the two troopers involved in last year's controversial shooting along the Turnpike in Mercer County. Troopers John Hogan and James Kenna allegedly made false statements on the race of motorists they pulled over. Such data was being gathered in a State Police traffic stop survey prompted by the 1996 court decision. Authorities said the indictments against Hogan and Kenna were not directly related to their involvement in the shooting near Exit 7A. Three young minority men were wounded when the troopers fired 11 shots at their van. The troopers said the van had backed up toward them suddenly. Lawyers for Hogan and Kenna have said the pair are being used as scapegoats in the broader debate over racial profiling. Another lawyer who often represents troopers, Philip Moran, suggested that the real blame lies with the State Police top brass. ``The problem with this is that they indict the troopers at the bottom end,'' Moran told the Philadelphia inquirer for Tuesday's editions. ``They don't indict the supervisors--who taught them to profile, who required them to profile, and who congratulated them for profiling.'' The four occupants of the van have said they plan to file civil rights lawsuits against the troopers and the State Police. The indictments against Hogan and Kenna may prompt courts to dismiss criminal [[Page 11553]] charges against 26 minority defendants arrested by the two troopers in the past two years. Attorneys representing those suspects said prosecutors will be reluctant to call Hogan and Kenna as witnesses now that they face charges themselves. ``I don't think these cases will ever go to trial,'' defense lawyer John Weichsel told The Record of Hackensack for Tuesday's editions. Sources told The Star-Ledger that the Attorney General's report will recommend sweeping reforms and continued monitoring of the State Police. The state legislature's Black and Latino Caucus on Tuesday will host the second round of its three-day hearings on racial profiling Tuesday in Newark. ____ Base Officials Investigate Racial Epithets Drawn on Sleeping Marine Jacksonville, N.C. (AP).--Officials at Camp Lejeune are investigating allegations that three white Marines drew racial epithets on the face and arm of a black Marine assigned to their unit. A 20-year-old black Marine whose name has not been released, reported to city police last week the other Marines wrote the words ``KKK'' and ``nigger'' on his forehead and ``Go back to Africa'' on his left arm as he slept in a motel room. The Marine told police April 11 he work up and found the scrawls on his body. The three white Marines had left the motel when officers responding to the call arrived, ``but they left behind the drawing tools apparently used as well as photos they took of the victim as he slept,'' said Deputy Police Chief Sammy Phillips. An Onslow County magistrate determined the white Marines could have been charged with assault inflicting injury and ethnic intimidation, a felony. But the victim decided not to press charges. Instead, he asked Onslow County Magistrate Shelby Jones to contact his battalion commander. ``When he made that decision, I found no probable cause. I did tell him that if the military did not take care of it, the state would,'' Jones said last week. Maj. Scott B. Jack, a spokesman on base, said the battalion commander has investigated the allegations and is considering disciplinary action. ``The Marine who was subjected to this indignity has expressed his satisfaction with the action currently being taken by his command,'' Jack said. A staff judge advocate is reviewing the case to determine whether it should be turned over to the Naval Criminal Investigation Service. All four Marines are from the same unit currently deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Mediterranean. ____ Waco, Oklahoma City Bombing Anniversary Keeps Nearly One-Third of Jasper Students at Home Jasper, Texas (AP)--The school week is getting a later start for many students living near the East Texas scene of a dragging death. Almost one-third of Jasper students stayed home, fearful that white supremacists would use the anniversary of the Branch Davidian fire in Waco and Oklahoma City bombing to stage another violent event. Shannan Holmes sent her 8-year-old daughter, Meagan, to the baby sitter with her little brother, Monday instead of the second-grade class at Parnell Elementary. ``I just wanted the peace of mind,'' she told the Houston Chronicle. ``There's all kinds of nasty rumors going around, but I just thought it was better to be safe. It's just one day.'' Ms. Holmes said that her daughter could return to school today. Earlier this month, state officials revealed that a racist prison gang member called other like-minded individuals to gather in Jasper on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and Branch Davidian fire for ``Jasper tractor pull and drag racing event.'' Officials interpreted that to be a veiled reference to the June 7 murder of a Jasper black man, James Byrd Jr., whose body was found torn in two after being dragged behind a pickup truck for nearly three miles. A pretrial hearing is scheduled today for the second of three white men accused in the murder of James Byrd Jr. But at the Jasper County Courthouse on Monday, activity was slow. A handwritten sign taped inside the front door reminded the last person out to lock up. An investigation found nothing to the inmate-generated threat, the school superintendent said Monday. Nevertheless, worried parents kept 1,080 students, or 32 percent of those enrolled at Jasper's two elementary schools, the middle and high school, at home on Monday, said Doug Koebernick, superintendent of the Jasper Independent School District. ``Some parents picked up on that, so in the interest of the safety of their children, parents kept them from school,'' Koebernick said. ``It was just rumor generated.'' John William King, 24, an avowed white supremacist, was convicted and sentenced to death in February for Byrd's murder. Co-defendant Lawrence Russell Brewer, 32, faces the same fate when his capital murder trial begins May 17. A trial for the third defendant, 24-year-old Shawn Allen Berry, has not been scheduled. ____ Defense Begins Case in Trial of Two White Supremacists Little Rock, Ark. (AP)--Defense attorneys for two white supremacists accused of murder and conspiracy to set up a whites-only nation have tried to deflect the prosecution's incriminating testimony by suggesting that others were responsible for the crimes. This week, the defense gets to provide jurors a clearer view of its strategy for freeing Chevie Kehoe and Daniel Les, both 26, of the charges in federal court. Kehoe, of Colville, Wash., and Lee, of Yukon, Okla., are charged with racketeering, conspiracy and murder. They are accused of killing three members of Arkansas gun dealer William Mueller's family as part of the plot. Prosecutors say the two wanted to overthrow the federal government to set up a new nation in the Pacific Northwest, resorting to polygamy, gun trafficking, armed robbery, bombings and murder to carry out their plan. The defense, which claims Kehoe and Lee are not dangerous racists, was scheduled to begin its case today. Defense lawyers decided to delay opening statements until after the prosecution rested, which it did last Tuesday after Cheyne Kehoe, Kehoe's younger brother, testified to what he said Chevie told him about he and Lee murdering an Arkansas family three years ago. Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers haven't been able to discuss the case because of a gag order. But during a hearing, Lee's lawyer, Cathleen Compton, argued that the government had little physical evidence to connect the men to the crimes or show that they were part of any grand conspiracy. ``I think, without any disrespect to the court or anyone else, if these boys were in charge of conspiring to overthrow the government, we're all safe,'' Compton said. Prosecutors called more than 150 witnesses and wheeled in shoulder-high stacks of exhibits. They are seeking the death penalty. In the indictment, Chevie Kehoe and Lee are accused of the January 1996 robbery and deaths of Mueller, his wife, Nancy Mueller, and her 8-year-old daughter Sarah Powell. Other crimes mentioned in the indictment include a 1996 bombing of the Spokane, Wash., City Hall; a 1997 Ohio shootout with police that was videotaped and broadcast nationally; and the slayings of two associates. ____ Four Men Plead Guilty to Cross Burning Emredon Alexandria, LA. (AP)--Four men pleaded guilty Monday to setting crosses afire in front of a north Louisiana home whose white owners took in an interracial couple and their family seeking refuge from a hurricane. Gary Delane Norman, 25; James Norris Friday, 23; Matthew Ryan Morgan, 19, and Huey Kenneth Martin, 18, all of Goldonna, admitted to a federal civil rights conspiracy. Each faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced July 21 by U.S. District Judge F.A. Little Jr. Mandatory sentencing guidelines are used in setting federal sentences, which are served without parole. Authorities said crosses were burned in front of the house in Goldonna, where the family was staying on the nights of Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, 1998. The family had been given shelter after fleeing the approach of Hurricane Georges, authorities said. The victims were a black man, his white wife and their children who were staying temporarily with the wife's sister after fleeing south Louisiana as Hurricane Georges approached. The indictment alleged that one of the men said: ``No blacks sleep in Goldonna.'' Authorities alleged the scheme was hatched at a grocery store, After the cross was burned on the first night, a second, larger cross was built and burned the following night. Whether a cross burning is illegal depends upon its purpose. Cross burning for ceremonial purposes is not illegal. But it is a federal crime to burn a cross for racial motives in an attempt to intimidate or oppress someone. ``While some may try to minimize this as nothing more than a prank, finding a burning cross on your front lawn in the middle of the night is no laughing matter,'' said U.S. Attorney Mike Skinner. ``It is a tactic of federal and intimidation, and when it interferes with federally protected rights to every citizen, those responsible will be brought to justice.'' ____ Basketball Coaches Sue Texas City, Police Over Detainment (By Sonja Barisic) Norfolk, VA (AP)--A women's basketball coach, her husband and an assistant coach have filed a $30 million lawsuit alleging racial bias after being detained by police in Lubbock, Texas. The lawsuit filed Monday contends that the city and its police engaged in racially discriminatory behavior when they stopped [[Page 11554]] Hampton University coach Patricia Bibbs, her husband, Ezell, and assistant coach Vanetta Kelso on Nov. 16. All three, who are black, have said they believe race played a role in how they were treated when police detained them during an investigation of an alleged scam. The suit also says police violated their constitutional rights of due process, equal protection and protection from unreasonable and illegal arrests, searches and seizures. ``The city of Lubbock and its police department have known and tolerated . . . the selection and retention of police officers who have exhibited racist attitudes toward African- Americans and other minorities,'' the lawsuit said. Tony Privett, a spokesman for the city of Lubbock, would not comment. The Bibbses and Kelso were detained outside a Lubbock Wal- Mart by officers responding to a customer's complaint that someone tried to scam her. The three were handcuffed and held for several hours. The three were suspected of trying a ``pigeon drop,'' where a thief claims to have found a purse with cash in it and persuades the victim to put up money for a lawyer so they can both lay claim to the cash--and then disappears with the victim's money. Police studied security tapes from the store, determined that the Bibbses and Kelso had no contact with the shopper and said no charges would be filed. The Bibbses and Kelso had no comment on the suit Monday, said Victoria L. Jones, a spokeswoman for the university in southeastern Virginia. ____ Racial Profiling Bill Heads to House AGSTFPR (By Adam Gorlick) Hartford, CT (AP)--Two competing bills, both designed to prevent police from pulling over motorists based on their race, are making their way through the general assembly. Sen. Alvin Penn's bill would require police officers to record their observations about the gender and race of every driver they pull over. That information would be gathered by the Chief State's Attorney's office and used to determine whether the problem, known as ``racial profiling'' exists. Another bill passed to the House by the Judiciary Committee Monday does not have those requirements. ``It's an ill-fated bill,'' Penn, D-Bridgeport, said. ``It's a compromise, and this is something you can't compromise on.'' Rep. Michael Lawlor, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the bills are not at odds with each other. He said there are questions about how police officers could compile racially sensitive information about drivers without offending them or creating an avalanche of paperwork. ``By what system are you going to identify who's in what category?'' he said. ``we have to make it clear that its not OK to target people based on their race or ethnicity. If it is happening, lets figure out how to monitor it in a way that does not unnecessarily burden the jobs that the cops do.'' Minority drivers have complained they are sometimes stopped and queried by police because of their race, especially when driving an expensive car or driving through affluent neighborhoods. Penn, who says he was a target of profiling in Trumbull three years ago, also wants police departments to set up a system to deal with complaints about profiling. If they don't, he wants the towns to be fined. Complaints that Trumbull police have illegally targeted black and Hispanic motorists have prompted an FBI probe. The investigation follows complaints from minority drivers and a memo by police Chief Theodore Ambrosini suggesting officers watch for people who don't fit into the community. ____ Mayor Opposes Desegregation Program Milwaukee (AP)--Racial guidelines in a court-approved desegregation plan for the Milwaukee School District ought to be abandoned, Mayor John O. Norquist said. The Chapter 220 program was adopted in the 1970s by the district in response to a federal lawsuit to bus black children to suburban districts. Hundreds of Milwaukee white children are ineligible for the state-subsidized transportation. The lack of opportunity for white children encourages their families to move to the suburbs, Norquist said Monday, recalling he opposed the Chapter 220 plan when the Legislature adopted it while he was a state senator. ``I don't think there should be any racial quotas,'' he said. Some members of the newly elected Milwaukee school board propose ending the racial guidelines. Gov. Tommy Thompson recommends the Legislature reduce the funding available to districts that participate in Chapter 220. School administrators and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People favor preserving the program. More than 5,100 Milwaukee minority children attend suburban schools under the program this year while 540 suburban whites attend Milwaukee schools. ____________________