Politics & Government
Lower Merion NAACP, Police Advocates Clash Over Treatment Of Blacks
Tensions have been rising since February, when two black teenagers who were shoveling snow for neighbors were arrested.
The NAACP, Lower Merion Township, and the local policeman's order are clashing over alleged racist treatment of African-Americans in Ardmore by law enforcement.
Tensions have been rising since February, when two black teenagers who were shoveling snow for neighbors were arrested.
It was unclear why they were arrested, and a photo of the pair sitting in a snowbank set off an outrage in the community and across the region.
Lower Merion police said that they needed a permit to shovel. Civil rights advocates fired back that it was racial profiling and that there was no cause to arrest the pair of young shovelers.
Among shovelers stopped in Lower Merion in 2013 and 2014 and found not to have a permit, whites were 1.76 times more likely than blacks to be released without a citation, according to Philly.com.
The local issue underscores a national debate simmering between minority communities and their treatment by police.
"(Statistics) are so important, because then people can't say, 'It's one case. It's not a big deal,'" Diana Robertson, president of the Main Line branch of the NAACP, told Philly.com.
It's not the first instance of Lower Merion police racially profiling blacks, Roberston added, referencing the October 26th incident of a black man waiting for a bus being shoved harshly to the ground and put in handcuffs before it was proven that he was not the bank robber they were seeking.
The Lower Merion FOP Lodge 284 condemned Roberston's remarks, claiming she "orchestrated" a "media show" at recent meetings with her "willing dupes" on the board of commissioners.
The order even went as far as to suggest that Robertson was putting police lives in danger by advocating for an end to racial profiling:
Hey Diana--You have ZERO credibility. You are an anti-police bigot! Our members are doing good police work and you're making it harder. Will you be happy when one of us is finally killed because of your bigoted rhetoric?
The township is reportedly working to amend their code on snow shovelers and will hold a hearing with public comments on January 20.
