Blacks are arrested on 'contempt of cop' charge at higher rate

When Seattle police arrest someone for "obstructing a public officer," chances are nearly dead even they're arresting an African-American -- in a city that's predominantly white.

Once arrested, the accused could spend a night in jail, but the odds are relatively favorable -- as good as a coin toss -- that the prosecutors will drop the case, often as a result of a review the next morning. Full Story »

Posted by Dwight Rousu

See All Reviews »

Review

Kyra Troyan
2.4
by Kyra Troyan - Oct. 1, 2008

It did report a lot of facts. It did quote a lot of sources. It did try to be fair. Examples were cited. Statistics shown, not just referred to. People from all sides were interviewed. I would have like to see some consideration on how this is also part of a vicious cycle. The perception that cops are unfair to African-Americans - then makes them (understandably) more likely to be contempuous and distrustful of cops - which probably leads to more behavior that the cops see as obstruction/contempt. I was a bit bothered by the outdated usage of binary color terms to denote ethnicity.

See All Reviews »

Kyra's Rating

Overall
2.4

Poor
from 7 answers
Quality
2.3
Fairness
2.0
Information
3.0
Sourcing
2.0
Context
2.0
Popularity
2.5
Recommendation
3.0
Credibility
2.0
More How our ratings work »