Page 4 - 5-15-15 Friday's Edition

Opinions
Citizens Share Comments About Controversial Bicycle Citations
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last month, the Tampa Bay Times daily newspaper printed a series of articles about bicycle citations. Enti- tled “How Riding Your Bike Can Land You in Trouble With The Cops --- If You’re Black,” the articles focused on the disproportionate number of African Americans stopped and given citations, or worse, who were riding bicycles.
The controversy has con- tinued since the first article appeared in print, raising the question of whether the prac- tice is racially motivated and harassment or policing.
Recently retired Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Mayor Bob Buckhorn asked the U. S. Justice De- partment to conduct an inde- pendent investigation of the practice. Meanwhile, retired Chief Castor defended the practice and Mayor Buck- horn has refused to suspend it, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Some Sentinel readers
shared their opinions about whether or not the issuance of the citations are harassment or simply policing.
Attorney Roderick Ford said, “The bicycle cita- tion controversy clearly re- flects a growing trend nationally to evade the Thir- teenth Amendment (which ended chattel slavery) by overzealous policing as well as using both civil and criminal laws to take away basic civil, constitutional, and human rights.”
Dr. Samuel Wright
said, “I believe it is a combina- tion of both. What concerns me is that it must be consis- tent regardless of ethnicity.”
Ms. Pat Spencer said, “The practice of bicycle cita- tions given to persons who
DR. SAM WRIGHT, SR.
MS. PAT SPENCER
cannot produce a receipt of ownership borders on harass- ment, not policing as I see it. My son and I own bikes, but cannot tell you where the re- ceipt is. He bought his, and mine was a gift.
“Is there an ordinance that states one must be able to pro- duce the receipt if stopped? It appears that this is another reason to detain someone who
the officer feels may have other reasons to be ques- tioned. I really think the pol- icy needs to be reviewed with the officers putting themselves in the person’s place that they are stopping (what if they were
not officers stopped)?”
and were
Danny Green said, “I think it’s racial profiling. I ride around in my neighborhood in Riverview with no lights and no receipt to my bicycle. I rode around Bayshore the other day and I saw a lot of people riding their bicycles with no lights and no helmet. For most of the people they (police) are stop- ping, the bicycle is their only means of transportation and most people in that area do not have receipts because the bicycle is given to them.
“I have bought a lot of kids bicycles myself for Christmas and I know they don't have re- ceipts because I have the re- ceipts. Although it is a safety issue, we have too many other problems in Tampa to be wor- rying about people riding bicy- cles with no lights.”
Ms. Yvette Lewis said, “The bicycle safety law was passed to ensure that a bicy- clist would be safe in the street. The Tampa Police De- partment has turned a good thing into a bad thing. It is not good practice to stop someone for riding a bike without a light, and then do an illegal search. It is stated by the per-
MS. YVETTE LEWIS`
son riding the bike that he feels intimidated by the police, in fear of going to jail.
“So they let the police do an illegal search, not knowing their Civil Rights have been vi- olated by the police officer. It is not good practice to stop 20 good bicyclists just to find 1 criminal. What about the 19 bicyclists’ Civil Rights that has been violated in this process?”
Billy Wheeler said, “Po- lice say they stop bike riders because of suspicious activity in areas where “bicycle crime” is excessive. They argue their intention is to prevent crimes from taking place. When the stop leads to a search and ar- rest, they judge the tactic ac- ceptable. Even so, in the absence of illegal activity, Black riders are ticketed for whatever minor infraction ini- tiated the stop.
“African Americans suffer most in this depressed econ- omy, and the likelihood of bike seizure, lost time, and money paid for fines brings added harmful factors into play. Se- lectively enforcing the bike laws could amount to harass- ment. It certainly seems un- fair since the outcome is the unequal distribution of cita- tions we see today. Suppos- edly, we enact laws to insure citizens’ health, welfare, and safety. Thus, it makes sense to enforce bicycle safety regula- tions equally in all neighbor- hoods.”
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015