Peoria Pundit

I attended the protest outside Peoria Police Department headquarters this morning. Rather than rabble-rousers out to play the race card and demand special treatment for black people, I met and talked to people who sincerely believe that the ‘Manual 22′ case is yet another instance of racial profiling.

Several people I talked to or overheard completely agreed that there’s a problem with groups of young men congregating in the middle of streets, refusing to get out of the way for cars and sometimes threatening drivers.

But that isn’t the case here, they said.

Rita Ali, director for diversity at Illinois Central College, made a case that the tickets weren’t deserved. She said she witnessed the tickets being issued at Manual. She was in her car driving in the 2400 block of West Wiswall when an unmarked police car stopped in front of her, and a group of officers got out and surrounded a group of students who were walking on the side of the road, not long after crossing the street.

“I was not blocked by any students who were walking in the middle of the street,” she told the group of approximately 30 protesters. “There were no sidewalks and the students were walking as close to the curb as possible.”

The only thing blocking her path was the blue, unmarked police car in front of her, and the second unmarked police car that came in behind her.

“I thought it was a drug bust,” she said. “It looked like a sting operation.”

While many of the students being ticketed were upset, some of the officers were laughing and joking, Ali said. In response to a question from a student, one officer replied “we’re just doing what we’ve been told to do.”

Much has been made of the announcements made over the schools’ public address systems warning students that tickets might be issued if they jaywalk or block cars. Ali said she was inside Manual High School right before school let out, and she heard no announcement. Others complained that parents were not notified in writing — much like there was no warning given to parents informing them that a young Manual student was raped walking to school earlier this year.

Others scoffed at Peoria Police Chief Settingsgaard’s description of the tickets as a way to teach young people how to behave after they leave high school and go off to college. Several protesters commented that if the Peoria Police really want to cut down on jaywalking, they out to set up similar sting operations on West Main Street and University because of high incidence of Bradley University students not bothering to use the crosswalks. Some also questioned why no similar operation was done at Richwoods High School

Ali discussed some of the developments following the tickets:

Twenty-two of the tickets were issued to Manual Students. Ten were issued to Woodruff students, and more were have been written had police not been pulled to an emergency call. Of the 32 tickets, three were issued to white students and one to a Hispanic.

The tickets were issued for obstructing the path of a roadway, not for jaywalking, a less serious offense. Those ticketed will receive letters notifying them the fine will be $75, not $100.

“This was a extremely flawed, poorly planned crackdown operation,” she said.

Ali isn’t buying any denial that the tickets were not a form of racial profiling. The chief ordered a crackdown at two urban schools, she noted, which assured that black students would be those ticketed.

“Whenever racial profiling occurs, they always deny it. It’s part of their creed.”

She wants:

1. the tickets dropped or changed to warnings;
2. the city council to form a task force to eliminate racial profiling; and
3. hiring more people of color for the police force.

The Rev. Andrew Jowers of the NAACP spoke on behalf of chapter president Don Jackson, who was out of town to attend a conference.

He noted that the issue was not discussed at the Sept. 18 joint meeting of the Peoria School District 150 board and the Peoria City Council.

“There was no discussion of the critical safety issue,” he said. When Jowers read the names of those who attended the meeting, there was mumbled laughter when it was noted that 1st District City Councilman Clyde Gulley arrived late.

Former Peoria City Council member Jim Polk laid the heaviest criticism on the city and the police department.

“I know that these rules and these guidelines have got to come from somewhere in city hall,’ he said, noting that his own wife has recently been stopped four times while driving her car into the northern parts of Peoria. “They are trying to break out spirits.”

“It’s about city hall, it’s about the police department and it’s about the police chief,” Polk said, stating that there are rumors that he left his previous job in Milwaukee because of similar issues. He did not elaborate.

“I’m not anti police,” Polk said. “I just want things to be fair and just.”

Sherry Cannon, a community activist with METEC, gave the police more credit than some seemed willing to do.

“I’ll take [Chief Settingsgaard] at his word that he doesn’t believe this is racial profiling. But it’s highly insensitive,” Cannon said. “To us, it feels like racial profiling because you are treating our children differently.”

Organizers urged those attending to pack the Peoria City Council chambers at the next council meeting.

I tried to find out if any of the young people attending the rally — or their parents — were among those ticketed. I couldn’t find any, and Karen McDonald of the Journal Star had the same results.

My two cents: It’s amazing how one’s background affects one’s perception. Chief Settingsgaard and most of my commenters were absolutely incredulous that this could be considered a racial issue. Black people think ‘of course it was racial profiling.’ I don’t think most police defenders are being bigots, nor do I think the protesters are race baiters. There’s not a lot of trust here, and the children of Peoria are watching and learning. There needs to be a way to keep thugs from commandeering the streets without leaving vast segments of the population convinced the police are preying upon them.