Rep. Coleman on Texas A&M System Researchers Analyzing Racial Profiling Data
Style Magazine Newswire | 7/28/2020, 10:24 a.m.
Today, State Representative Garnet F. Coleman (D-Houston) made the following statement in response to the announcement that leading scholars and academics from universities within the Texas A&M System will be analyzing the data reported by law enforcement agencies on racial profiling in accordance with the provisions in the Sandra Bland Act.
“When the Sandra Bland Act passed in 2017, it included provisions that required law enforcement agencies to collect and review information on vehicle stops to determine if there are racial disparities between drivers who are stopped and the racial and ethnic makeup of the county.
Dr. Alex Del Carmen, a leading national expert on racial profiling in policing and with experience in police reform cases, will lead a group of researchers and scholars from academic institutions within the Texas A&M System in analyzing the annual racial profiling data submitted by law enforcement agencies in Texas during the past year.
This data includes whether the officer issued a verbal or written warning or a citation as a result of the stop and whether the officer used physical force that resulted in bodily injury. This new data being reported as a result of the Sandra Bland Act supplements the data already being collected of the driver's race, whether a search was conducted, and if the officer knew the driver's race before pulling them over.
When properly collected and analyzed, this data should provide a much needed basis for developing sound public policy that address racial profiling in Texas.”