Sacramento police release report showing racial inequities in pull-overs, use of force

By Brittany Hope

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — The Sacramento Police Department released a new report Tuesday, breaking down vehicle stops, pedestrian stops and use-of-force instances in the capital city based on race and equity.

The report, compiled by the Center for Policing Equity, also breaks down the racial demographics of the department compared to the City of Sacramento. Data from 2014 to 2019 is used.

Here are some highlights Non-traffic stops Black people experienced non-traffic stops 5.7 times as often as white people per year on average, and Latinos experienced non-traffic stops 1.3 times as often as white people per year on average (taking into account the population size of each group) Once stopped, Black people were 59.7% more likely to be searched than white people, and Latinos were 21.5% more likely to be searched than white people Searches of Black people and Latinos produced contraband less frequently than in searches of white people Traffic stops Black people make up 13.1% of the population of Sacramento but made up 38% of all people who experienced traffic stops Latinos make up 28.3% of the population of Sacramento and made up 23% of all people who experienced traffic stops White people make up 33.1% of the population of Sacramento but made up 29% of all people who experienced traffic stops Once stopped, Black people were searched 2.7 times as often as white people, and Latinos were 87% more likely to be searched than white people Use of Force The total number of use-of-force incidents per year decreased 27.4% between 2014 and 2019 Black people were subjected to force 4.5 times as often as white people per year on average, taking into account the population size of each group Latinos were subjected to force at approximately the same rate as white people per year on average, taking into account the population size of each group How the police chief, activists are reacting Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn told KCRA 3 he is not surprised about the racial disparities evident in the report and says this is a national problem.

“That’s why we released everything we released,” Hahn said. “I expect a lot of folks to say, ‘I told you so.'”

Berry Accius, activist and founder of Voice of the Youth, said he is not surprised with the findings either.

“The data has been proven that we have not been making a mistake when we say Black and LatinX people are targeted here in Sacramento,” Accius said.

Accius is calling for a de-investment into the police department, with those dollars being reallocated instead to communities and grassroots organizations.

Hahn said this report by CPE is just one step his department is taking to improve policing equity. He also asked Stanford University to study the department’s body camera videos to examine relations between officers and the community. Although he said changing and adjusting laws, training and policies is vital, the chief said creating a more diverse department is equally important.

“How do we ensure that we have a department and members of this department that have a diverse set of experiences that enable them to do their job in our entire city?” Hahn told KCRA 3.

The report shows nearly 70% of the department is white, whereas only 33% of Sacramento citizens are white.

“If you poll the African American community, which we do, their impression of law enforcement is different than other communities,” Hahn said. “Until we change that, we are going to struggle with African American officers coming into our department.”

To help bridge the gap, Hahn says he will continue implicit bias and diversity trainings for recruits in the academy as well as active police officers, and will continue improving community policing.

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