FERGUSON, August 21 (RIA Novosti) – Driving fines revealing racial profiling are used as a discriminatory tax on African-American motorists in Ferguson – the suburb that is riven by protests over the police killing of an unarmed African-American teenager, resident Cassandra Barton told RIA Novosti.
“If you black, nine times outta ten, after a certain hour, they pull you over. You don’t have to violate any laws. And the fines are excessive. In the city, you might pay $25 or $50 dollars for a ticket. In Ferguson you pay $100 and $150 for the same ticket,” said Barton, 50, a business student.
“They racial profile, period. You come in their courtrooms, all you see is black people. You very rarely see whites in there. The whole community is built up on the money coming out of the people who live in this community and they all are black. Everything in Ferguson, they have built it.”
Traffic fines are a major source of revenue in Ferguson. Municipal court fines – mostly vehicle violations – accounted for 21 per cent of general fund revenue and at $2.63 million in 2013, were equivalent to more than 81 per cent of basic police salaries.
Ferguson, a predominantly African-American suburb of St Louis of some 21,000 residents, has been rocked by protests since the police killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, as he walked with a friend on a residential street on the afternoon of August 9.
Protests eased on Wednesday night thanks to the effects of rain and a visit by America’s top lawman, Attorney General Eric Holder, who promised a thorough federal probe to complement local investigations.
Missouri National Guard troops have been deployed to staunch the violence. Law enforcers have been criticized for bringing military tactics to civilian protests, toting assault rifles and using tear gas, rubber bullets and other heavy-handed measures.
