YOUNGSTOWN POLICE Racial profiling seminar offers traffic citation tips

Fear of a backlash should not prevent police from doing their job right, a training officer said.
YOUNGSTOWN -- If a cop can't explain why he's stopping someone, that's the first sign of a problem.
That was the reminder from Lt. Robin Lees for officers and other employees of Youngstown Police Department at a seminar on racial profiling Tuesday.
Using a video and slide presentation, Lees, a YPD training and planning officer, offered tips to 20 members of the department on how to conduct proper traffic stops and issuing citations.
"The unequal treatment of any person on the basis of racial or ethnic characterization is considered racial profiling," the lieutenant said.
Officers must have a legitimate reason to make a traffic stop or they could become a target of an internal investigation.
"So long as a person is obeying the law, they have the right to move freely throughout society without police interference," said Lees.
Hurts everyone: When law officers conduct a traffic stop for the wrong reasons, it undermines their department's integrity because the public has faith and trust in the police.
The officer must be able to articulate the reasoning behind the stop.
"If an officer cannot verbally describe the reasoning behind pulling someone over, it becomes the first sign of a problem," said Lees.
He emphasized problems with alleged racial profiling by police in other areas of the United States.
"Although this is not a big issue in our area, the purpose of these lectures is to address the problem before it actually does become a big issue," Lees said of the ongoing training.
Courtesy on the officer's part during a traffic stop is a key.
"Officers need to know that they must tell each violator why they have been pulled over no matter if they believe it to be necessary," said Lees. "A bit of courtesy helps, no matter what the situation."
Lees said some officers have a tendency to be abrupt during a traffic stop, regardless of who the vehicle's occupants are and that can be mistaken as the officer picking on a person of a particular race.
Lees said, however, that officers should not let a fear of a possible backlash interfere with them doing their job correctly.
While race should not be the basis of a stop, if an officer sees a vehicle occupant who matches the description of a suspect they should perform their duty.