A crime was committed. Have you seen a black man?

[LongTimeListener]

Dominion Post of Morgantown, W. Va.

http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/the_dominion_post_on_suspicious_activity.php

 

[sm72]

Oh for ****'s sake.

 

[JR]

Onion?

 

[Football_Bat]

Story doesn't even specify a crime was committed. Which makes the brief worse.

 

[MisterCreosote]

To paraphrase Starman:

Right now in America, someone somewhere is getting away with something.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Found him:

Now where's my reward?

 

[waterytart]

To paraphrase Starman:

Right now in America, someone somewhere is getting away with something.

And he doesn't look like us!

 

[Double J]

 

[Starman]

My first full-time newspaper gig was in a farm community 50 miles from the nearest semi-urban cities. The town was also home to several prisons.

One night I was sitting in the office laying out the sports pages.

Suddenly the police scanner barked to life: "County, this is Unit 8, we have a report of a black male walking along State Highway Three."

The response came quickly: "Unit 8, we copy. We'll put everybody on the lookout."

Several other units called in to say they were on the case.

Next response: "County, we copy. Unit 8 out."

Ain't that America, for you and me?

 

[Tarheel316]

Found him:

Now where's my reward?

Well, the Seahawk DBs do get away with pass interference a lot. /bluefont

 

[ColdCat]

My first full-time newspaper gig was in a farm community 50 miles from the nearest semi-urban cities. The town was also home to several prisons.

One night I was sitting in the office laying out the sports pages.

Suddenly the police scanner barked to life: "County, this is Unit 8, we have a report of a black male walking along State Highway Three."

The response came quickly: "Unit 8, we copy. We'll put everybody on the lookout."

Several other units called in to say they were on the case.

Next response: "County, we copy. Unit 8 out."

Ain't that America, for you and me?

I had something similar over the scanner, dispatch saying a caller had seen a Hispanic male walking along the road. This is a small town but there are people with some pigment in their skin. To his credit, the officer who responded said "Was he actually doing anything or was it just that he's Hispanic?"

 

[Riptide]

All cars, all cars,
BOLO for freaks.

Arrest on sight.

 

[Football_Bat]

"Hey maaaan, what you in for?"

"WWH."

"WWH? What's that?"

"Walking While Hispanic."

 

[Baron Scicluna]

My first full-time newspaper gig was in a farm community 50 miles from the nearest semi-urban cities. The town was also home to several prisons.

One night I was sitting in the office laying out the sports pages.

Suddenly the police scanner barked to life: "County, this is Unit 8, we have a report of a black male walking along State Highway Three."

The response came quickly: "Unit 8, we copy. We'll put everybody on the lookout."

Several other units called in to say they were on the case.

Next response: "County, we copy. Unit 8 out."

Ain't that America, for you and me?

THIS IS OURRRR COUNTREEEE!!!!

 

[Mark2010]

When giving a description of a suspect, it is quite common to give as much information as one has available. That can include race, gender, height, weight, clothing, tattoos or other distinguishing features, etc. Nothing unusual at all about that.

Would it be any different if the dispatcher had said "white male" instead of black?

Some people just go looking for a reason to get offended where there is none.

 

[Greenhorn]

Wonder if the "suspicious activity" in question was voting?

 

[ColdCat]

When giving a description of a suspect, it is quite common to give as much information as one has available. That can include race, gender, height, weight, clothing, tattoos or other distinguishing features, etc. Nothing unusual at all about that.

Would it be any different if the dispatcher had said "white male" instead of black?

Some people just go looking for a reason to get offended where there is none.

But this had so little info it becomes useless. It isn't "African-American male, 5-8, 175 lbs., seen near Fifth and Oak and 11:30 p.m. Friday." This is any black male in the county ever. How would Dep. Morgan actually get any useful tips from that? He wouldn't.
The Update on CJR has it being a photo that the deputy dropped off that was somehow omitted from the paper.

 

[Dick Whitman]

When giving a description of a suspect, it is quite common to give as much information as one has available. That can include race, gender, height, weight, clothing, tattoos or other distinguishing features, etc. Nothing unusual at all about that.

Would it be any different if the dispatcher had said "white male" instead of black?

Some people just go looking for a reason to get offended where there is none.

But this had so little info it becomes useless. It isn't "African-American male, 5-8, 175 lbs., seen near Fifth and Oak and 11:30 p.m. Friday." This is any black male in the county ever. How would Dep. Morgan actually get any useful tips from that? He wouldn't.
The Update on CJR has it being a photo that the deputy dropped off that was somehow omitted from the paper.

What makes it bad is "involved in some suspicious activity."

 

[Mark2010]

Eh, you report what you have. If you don't know exactly what someone did, "suspicious activity" is a catch-all. If I see someone in an unusual place at an unusual time, it's considered suspicious. If it happens to be a minority in a place where there are not many minorities, it becomes even more suspicious. Common sense.

I remember the story on Dateline of a high school principal in Arkansas who moved into a new house in a rather upscale neighborhood. One of the neighbors called police, wondering what a black person was doing there. The officers questioned him and he said "I live here". The person who complained was told the man had just moved into a new house in the area. Response: "that's even worse."

 

[Starman]

When giving a description of a suspect, it is quite common to give as much information as one has available. That can include race, gender, height, weight, clothing, tattoos or other distinguishing features, etc. Nothing unusual at all about that.

Would it be any different if the dispatcher had said "white male" instead of black?

Some people just go looking for a reason to get offended where there is none.

Suddenly the police scanner barked to life: "County, this is Unit 8, we have a report of a black male walking along State Highway Three."

Notice no indication is given that the black male is suspected of doing anything.

But be on the lookout anyway.