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Page 8 The Skanner February 8, 2017 News The High Costs of Disparities for People of Color in Multnomah County By Lee Van der Voo and Nick Budnick InvestigateWest/Pamplin Media Group Living black in Multnomah When people discuss racial dispari- ties in the criminal justice system, they often focus on cops. Yet, as evidenced by the gap in fines (which are outside PHOTO BY JAIME VALDEZ F or everything from jaywalking to driving without a license, it pays to be white in Oregon if you run afoul of the law. What you really don’t want to be is black. For example, littering fines for Af- rican-Americans are nearly double those imposed on whites, according to an analysis of cases filed in state courts from 2005 to 2016. Transit fare viola- tions? Those fines, too, are more than doubled if you’re black. Our review of the past dozen years of court records shows that white res- idents charged in relatively minor cas- es in Multnomah County — those with a single count — paid a median fine of $181, while African-American defen- dants paid $261. Since 2005, that disparity added up to about $5.6 million. If you look at fines related to all cases, African-American defendants in Mult- nomah County paid about $21.5 million more than they would have if their fines had been equal to those levied on white defendants. “These are the hidden injustices built into the justice system,” said Jo Ann Hardesty, president of the Portland Branch of the NAACP and a former state legislator. Teressa Raiford, 46, and a lead- er of Don’t Shoot PDX, said it was only after talking to white girls that she learned police didn’t know all young kids by name — just the black kids. Teressa Raiford went from being a pro-cop anti-gang activist to leading Jo Ann Hardesty speaks at the March for Justice and Equality on Jan 28, 2017. the group Don’t Shoot PDX. She says she learned from an the control of police), obstacles to ob- taining equal justice in Multnomah early age that her skin color merited County — and throughout Oregon — special attention from police. Red Hamilton, 40, a Milwaukie resi- are seen at every tier of the criminal dent whose family lives in North Port- justice system. land, says her brother has been stopped Prosecutors, the courts and even by police while walking to work. state legislators play a role in perpetu- “They ask him stuff like, ‘Oh, where ating the disparities, but it’s logical to zero in on police, who make the first — you going? You look familiar,’” Hamil- and very public — contact with people ton said, “criminalizing him by just his skin tone.” who end up in our courts and jails. And then there’s Kevin Jones’ story In Multnomah County, ticket by tick- from last July. et, arrest by arrest, African-Americans The co-founder of an arts group, are charged three to 30 times as often Jones was parked in the loading dock as white residents for everything from pedestrian and transit fare violations outside the Artists Repertory Theatre to drug charges and crimes related to in downtown Portland, talking with his production assistant, when an offi- interactions with police. For black people in Multnomah Coun- cer activated his squad car lights and ty, unequal treatment in the criminal began questioning him — the officer’s hand either on his gun or resting very justice system is nothing new. Lauretta Reye Austin, 22, described near it, his partner standing further being hassled by a cop while waiting at back. Jones, who was then directing a play a MAX station. on racial profiling for the August Wil- son Red Door Project, asked what the ld Chi basis for the stop was, pointing out that he was parked legally and rented space at the theater. Eventually, the police were persuad- ed and drove away. But the officer’s ini- tial response to his questioning struck Jones as out of line. “If you’re going to have an attitude, let me have your driv- er’s license,” he recalled the cop saying. Such tales are the reality of life inside these numbers: Of the 202 types of of- fenses for which there was adequate data to compare — everything from mail theft to murder to escape from prison or custody — African-American residents in Multnomah County were charged at higher rates than whites for all but five types of crimes. And in 80 percent of those crimes, they were charged at two or more times the rate of whites. Stark gap for drug crimes The biggest disparities are seen in drug crimes. Researchers have found that African-Americans use most drugs, including powder cocaine, at lower rates than whites. The only drug black people consume at a higher rate is crack cocaine. Yet black residents in Multnomah County were charged at a rate seven times that of whites for all drug cases. In minor cocaine cases, mostly single counts of possession, the rate was 30 times that of whites. African-American residents com- prise just 7 percent of Multnomah County’s population, including people of mixed race, but make up nearly a third of charges for interfering with a police officer. Read the rest at TheSkanner.com ren’s Community Clinic ’re Moving e W Our new address is ! 2201 Lloyd Center #2252 Portland, Oregon, 97232 Located in the Lloyd Center, on the southeast corner of the 3rd floor, toward Sears and behind Gentle Dental. www.ccc4kids.org 503.284.5239 phone 503.284.9162 fax
