Word: cincinnati
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...have a low-crime society, in which cops are violent cowboys, or a high-crime culture, in which cops can't stop a mob without written Justice Department approval? That dilemma is surely a creaky contrivance. Police can be effective without being jackbooted thugs. But many cities besides Cincinnati will probably face this question in coming months as lawmakers look to monitor police activity and as police protest the new rules...
Forget the numbers for a minute, and return to Cincinnati. Three months ago, riots erupted in the city after a white officer shot and killed an unarmed black man, Timothy Thomas, who was sought by authorities not for murder or rape but for a dozen misdemeanors, many of them traffic violations. There was a sense that Thomas had been racially profiled to death...
...Because Cincinnati--like many cities--doesn't yet collect racial data on police activity, it is hard to say whether the police force is as bad as some claim. But several facts about the force may help explain why many blacks feel that cops are biased--why they may believe they were racially profiled during a traffic stop even if their taillight was burned out. First, the police division is only 28% African American, while the city is 43% black. Cincinnati is the 10th most segregated city in the nation, according to the 2000 Census. That segregation is reflected...
...Cincinnati is a place where even the authorities--black and white--suspect that authority works against them. In a city where even fellow officers don't entirely trust one another, no wonder mere citizens raise their antennae during police encounters. Reports of racial profiling have taught many of us to be suspicious of cops. But if we act suspicious, cops notice. And when cops get scared--is that guy reaching for a wallet or his gun?--the whole process of distrust and fear can all too easily spiral into danger...
TIME.com Visit time.com to see more of James Nachtwey's photographs from Cincinnati...