5 ms·

I think a piece of the issue is that, in Boston in December, you can expect about half the folks on the street to be wearing a knit hat and puffy coat. You migh

by whafro 11y ago

I think a piece of the issue is that, in Boston in December, you can expect about half the folks on the street to be wearing a knit hat and puffy coat. You might as well say "wearing winter clothes." Black man? That's about one in four. 160 pounds ("but you're a little more than that")? Not eliminating too many folks there. At that point, you might as well just admit that it's an excuse to stop-and-frisk anyone you like, fishing for anything you can find. I'd hope (but not expect) police to be looking for something a bit firmer, and maybe follow him, but as soon as you're effectively being detained in a public place, you're really messing with folks.

golergka 11y ago
> 5′ 11″, black male, 160 pounds Is it really a "stop-and-frisk anyone you like"?
- beat 11y ago
  If not that, then something else. My daughter's ex-boyfriend, who is Ojibwe and a pretty big guy (6'1" and muscular) got stop-and-frisked all the time, for all sorts of petty made-up crap. This is a kid that I expect will wind up with a PhD on interfacing nervous systems with computers, a kid in college on a Gates Millenium scholarship. They just see a big brown guy and start harassing.
- whafro 11y ago
  Tough to be unbiased here – I walk through that neighborhood every day during my commute, and feel that a description like that is hardly a useful constraint. Especially in the few blocks around the art school (which leads toward two other undergraduate colleges), you can't tell which folks are professors, which are students, and which are leeching off the zillion hospitals within three blocks. To some, that may mean it seems appropriate to just stop and question everyone. But, in reality, being questioned by the police appears to passers-by to be an indication of guilt, and that's not something you want colleagues and students seeing. So, again, if you see a guy matching a vague description, see if there's another reason why you'd suspect him. Have a rock-solid, specific description? Maybe that's a different story. But I'd like to err on the side of caution and respect – there are consequences even if you don't charge the guy.
- esrauch 11y ago
  > Is it really a "stop-and-frisk anyone you like"? Given some lady saw the person through a window on the screet, do you think that description at all rules out someone who is 5'9" and 145 lbs from being frisked? Or 6'1" and 180 pounds? That description becomes "stop and frisk the majority of black males". Once you can frisk a group of 3+ people based on the description of one matching then you will statistically have carte blanche.
- fisherjeff 11y ago
  It's an interesting exercise to take 'black male' out of the mix and consider just how few potential suspects the whole description eliminates. Regardless, operating solely on evidence as broad and vague as appearances should warrant some skepticism on the part of the investigating officer, and therefore seems ripe for abuse.

by whafro 11y ago

golergka 11y ago

> 5′ 11″, black male, 160 pounds Is it really a "stop-and-frisk anyone you like"?

beat 11y ago
If not that, then something else. My daughter's ex-boyfriend, who is Ojibwe and a pretty big guy (6'1" and muscular) got stop-and-frisked all the time, for all sorts of petty made-up crap. This is a kid that I expect will wind up with a PhD on interfacing nervous systems with computers, a kid in college on a Gates Millenium scholarship. They just see a big brown guy and start harassing.
whafro 11y ago
Tough to be unbiased here – I walk through that neighborhood every day during my commute, and feel that a description like that is hardly a useful constraint. Especially in the few blocks around the art school (which leads toward two other undergraduate colleges), you can't tell which folks are professors, which are students, and which are leeching off the zillion hospitals within three blocks. To some, that may mean it seems appropriate to just stop and question everyone. But, in reality, being questioned by the police appears to passers-by to be an indication of guilt, and that's not something you want colleagues and students seeing. So, again, if you see a guy matching a vague description, see if there's another reason why you'd suspect him. Have a rock-solid, specific description? Maybe that's a different story. But I'd like to err on the side of caution and respect – there are consequences even if you don't charge the guy.
esrauch 11y ago
> Is it really a "stop-and-frisk anyone you like"? Given some lady saw the person through a window on the screet, do you think that description at all rules out someone who is 5'9" and 145 lbs from being frisked? Or 6'1" and 180 pounds? That description becomes "stop and frisk the majority of black males". Once you can frisk a group of 3+ people based on the description of one matching then you will statistically have carte blanche.
fisherjeff 11y ago
It's an interesting exercise to take 'black male' out of the mix and consider just how few potential suspects the whole description eliminates. Regardless, operating solely on evidence as broad and vague as appearances should warrant some skepticism on the part of the investigating officer, and therefore seems ripe for abuse.