Spanish-Language Radio Station Slams Police for Describing Suspect as 'Hispanic'

[Resident Smart Ass]

Spanish-Language Radio Station Slams Police for Describing Suspect as 'Hispanic'

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
By Melissa Underwood


Chandler Police Department

Sketch of 'Chandler Rapist'

An Arizona Spanish-language radio station is blasting a local police department for what it says is racial profiling: describing the suspect in a series of child rapes as "Hispanic."
Police are offering $25,000 for any information leading to an arrest in the case of the "Chandler Rapist," who began assaulting victims in Chandler, Ariz., in June 2006.
The suspect is described as Hispanic, 28 to 40 years old, short with a muscular build, dark hair and hazel or brown eyes.
Phoenix news talk radio station, KNUV 1190 AM, has complained to the police department about the description, claiming that "Hispanic" refers to an ethnicity, not a race.
"Hispanic could be white, it could be black, it could be dark-skinned complexion," said Mayra Nieves, vice president of programming. "We Hispanics see it that way."
Police won't budge. They say they are following normal procedures for releasing information based on victims' descriptions. Five victims between the ages of 12 and 14 have described their assailant as Hispanic.
The rapist usually strikes in the morning, when his victims' parents, usually a single mother or father, leave for work. The rapist attacks when he knows the parent won't be home, threatening his victims with a weapon before he sexually assaults them, said police spokesman Sgt. Rick Griner.

"We are not racially profiling anybody or anything," said Griner. "For us to change or alter or omit, that is irresponsible on our part. The common goal is to catch this predator and get him off the street."

Nieves said the current police description limits the station's ability to give its listeners specifics about the suspect.
"We need specific descriptions because we are radio," she said.
Nieves said using the term Hispanic is not only racial profiling, but also stereotyping.
The complaint from the radio station is the only the department received, Griner said.
"They are wanting a skin color. How do you classify a skin color?" (WTF!)Griner said. "What might be dark to me might not be dark to you. We're going off what [the victims] are telling us."
The American Civil Liberties Union said the the suspect's description is not racial profiling. It said if police used race as the sole factor in describing the suspect, that could be racial profiling.
"They are using concrete information to follow up leads," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, a spokeswoman for the ACLU Phoenix chapter.
An attack last Thursday, believed to be that of the same rapist, occurred when an intruder broke into a home and attacked a 15-year-old girl after her father went to work.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311717,00.html

[Ducky]

Big freaking boo-hoo. Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, Mediterranean, Black, (Yes, black, not African-American, because what would you call a black suspect in England? Black! Duh) East Indian, and even American Indian all have a distinct template that can be built upon from there. As a tool for describing someone, go for it. Hell, I'm not 100% white, but if my ass is missing, I want the description to read "White female" to avoid confusion. And that's all this is, the base description gives a template to build from.

[Pudge]

What a load of Shi-ite!

It is what it is....if you're that friggin sensitive about what people are calling you, then go someplace where you are the fuckin majority.....

That's not racism, it's common damn sense.

[lewisipso]

Isn't there a limitation on stupid?

[Pudge]

Isn't there a limitation on stupid?

We would have hit that a long time ago bro!

[Cidp24]

At great risk of being labled, I worked an OT assignment at a mall (yes, I was a sworn mall ninja).

We were required to use numbers rather than words when giving racial descriptions. 1=Black 2=White 3=Latino 4=Asian. This was supposed to be, in some way, more sensitive and PC. All it actually did was cause much confusion.
We also used to be able to run name only with race and sex through the State's DL files. A few years ago, they took away the capability to search by race in an attempt to be PC.
When did we get so wrapped up in PC and not hurting someone's feelings that we began to allow it to jeopardize investigations and the safety and welfare of the public? This has gotten crazy.

[PeterJasonMN]

Aaaaaaaaaah....a forum where I can say it...


If you don't like the description given, pack up your shit, find the nearest donkey and go back home!

[TheeBadOne]

[GumbyDammit]

We used to be required to give dispatch a race and reason for running any personal info, but they slowly fell away from it.

My complaint was that they ask me to be PC and not let race be a factor in my dealings with people, but the first thing they ask when I request info is their race. Half the time I can't tell the exact ethnic background of a person just by looking anyway. If I say Asian they say Pacific Islander, if I say Hispanic they say Native American.

The PC BS is stifling sometimes.

[213th]

uhoh...I think I might agree with the ACLU for a change...

[TheeBadOne]

uhoh...I think I might agree with the ACLU for a change...

[lewisipso]

701...239! I'll be in foot pursuit of a .....ahhhh....oh hell. He's...oh shit...sorry...the person is a....dammit.....! 701...239 contact the PC Police (ACLU, NAACP, Sharpton and Associates, etc) and ask if I can at least give a clothing description!

[213th]

701...239! I'll be in foot pursuit of a .....ahhhh....oh hell. He's...oh shit...sorry...the person is a....dammit.....! 701...239 contact the PC Police (ACLU, NAACP, Sharpton and Associates, etc) and ask if I can at least give a clothing description!

Oh that's AWESOME!

[Star Man]

Big freaking boo-hoo.

+1 on that!

[Big Sexy]

Black, (Yes, black, not African-American, because what would you call a black suspect in England?

Uh, English or perhaps, British. Same as you would a white one.

With that being said, that is a dumb ass radio station.

[Jks9199]

At great risk of being labled, I worked an OT assignment at a mall (yes, I was a sworn mall ninja).

We were required to use numbers rather than words when giving racial descriptions. 1=Black 2=White 3=Latino 4=Asian. This was supposed to be, in some way, more sensitive and PC. All it actually did was cause much confusion.
We also used to be able to run name only with race and sex through the State's DL files. A few years ago, they took away the capability to search by race in an attempt to be PC.
When did we get so wrapped up in PC and not hurting someone's feelings that we began to allow it to jeopardize investigations and the safety and welfare of the public? This has gotten crazy.

Virginia DMV doesn't record the race in the driver information files. Not that it could be important to know that the return on John Smith, DOB 1/2/76, black hair, brown eyes, who just gave you his name & DOB because he "forgot" his OL, is to a black guy, and the guy you're looking at is white. Nah... That couldn't be important. Or, that the registered owner of the car who's tag you just ran is black, and it's being driven by an Asian male...

I recognize the confusion possible with Hispanic -- but when it's listed in a description, most folk are going to picture someone roughly 5-6 to 5-9, medium to stocky build, black hair, brown eyes, dark complexion. Otherwise, they're appearance would have been described as black or white...