Some think we live in a post-racial world where white privilege is non-existent. Some think "not speaking about race is the equivalent of making progress on race issues." This week it is reported that Hispanics have been forced to leave a Connecticut town due to racist police abuse and harassment. Thankfully, the Justice Department has commenced a civil rights investigation and the FBI is conducting a criminal probe because ignoring racism, sweeping issues under the rug, does not end racism.
The police force is accused of "systematically running Hispanics out of town through harassing and beating them." Two years ago, racial profiling allegations started in East Haven, Connecticut. It is a predominantly Italian-American suburb with 7% of the population Hispanic.
Santiago Malave, a Puerto Rican, does not have an acknowledged right for what should be the simple daily task of driving his car through his town without the fear of police harassment.
Malave, a probation officer who works in New Haven, says the racial abuse is so bad that he only crosses the town line into East Haven to go home. He and his wife are now preparing to sell their house and move, joining an exodus of Hispanics who say police have hassled them with traffic stops, false arrests and even jailhouse beatings.
When residents took action to document the abuse with videotapes, the police retaliated:
Luis Rodriguez, an immigrant from Ecuador who owns the Los Amigos Grocery, said he was arrested two months ago and jailed for five days after a woman pointed out to police that his 3-year-old son was unsupervised on the sidewalk outside the store. He said police were out for revenge because his wife had been videotaping them. He was charged with child neglect; the case is still pending.
In another case, a priest videotaped police harassing a store owner, and then the police arrested the priest for videotaping, which is not against the law. (video at link)
The media reported the arrest of the priest, and Hispanic business owners filed a complaint against the police. In a matter of days, a hate group called the North East White Pride decided to seek revenge.
According to the New Haven Independent, Rodriguez said that a large white van pulled up to his grocery store on Saturday night, February 23, 2009. Men in army fatigues got out and deposited individually wrapped flyers to his doorstep.
“They send their children to school without immunization and expose your children to this. They work in restaurants and expose you as well,” says one flyer.
“Immigration or INVASION?” reads one flyer. “They come for welfare or to take our jobs and bring with them drugs, crime and disease.”
“Wake up America! We are being attacked!” warns another.
Illegal immigrants are causing a rise in crime, the flyers say, as gang members move into the U.S. from Latin America. “The shocking crimes committed by these illegal gangsters include organized crimes such as theft of prescription drugs from pharmacies, black market gun sales, assaults against police officers and witnesses, assassinations, and human trafficking.”
The flyers call for the deportation of all illegal immigrants.
Mr. Rodriguez is now forced to sell his store because police have "scared customers away by threatening to alert immigration authorities if they ever saw them in town again." Police park their cars outside the shops of Hispanic business owners, who faced retaliation when they complained. Police scared customers away from businesses by conducting raids on the parking lots to tow away cars with out-of-state license plates.
When police respond to a call for help from the community, first they ask the ever so important question about what is the nationality of the person reporting the crime, and then they arrest you for being born in Puerto Rico:
Malave, who has lived here since 1977, said he never had problems before late 2008 when police responded to a report by his wife that some money was missing. The couple had begun to argue. Malave, who was asked his nationality, said police arrested him for disorderly conduct the minute he said he was born in Puerto Rico.
"I tried to talk to the sergeant, but he said, 'You spics don't have rights here,'" said Malave, a former New Haven police officer.
More than half the population of Hispanics in East Haven have now been forced to move from this town. White privilege does not exist, right? Families being forced to leave their homes, friends, businesses and community happens all the time in white America.
By the way, the police chief has been placed on paid administrative leave due to the federal probes. The FBI is investigating only certain members of the police department rather than a probe of systematic racism.
Update:
Regarding the arrest of Rev. James Manship for videotaping the police at the grocery store, the NY Times reported last year that Priest’s Video Contradicts Police Report on Arrest. The police report claims the officer felt "unsafe" because Rev. Manship held "an unknown shiny silver object" in his hand that was concealed from the police. However, the video shows otherwise:
Father Manship, who had been advising the merchants, was in My Country Store taping two police officers as they confiscated the owner’s collection of license plates. In the arrest report, Officer David Cari said he grew concerned when the priest approached the officers and failed to identify an object cupped in his hands. Officer Cari wrote in the report that he felt “unsafe.”
But in the 14-second video, which can be seen on the Web site newhavenindependent.org, the officer can be heard asking the priest: “Sir what are you doing? Is there a reason that you have a camera on me?” Father Manship replies, “I’m taking a video of what’s going on here.”
Officer Cari approaches him, saying, “Well I’ll tell you what — what I’m going to do with that camera.” Then the taping stops.