Racial Profiling
Diversity Without Inclusion is Inequality
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Racial Profiling
Four men standing on a street corner does not constitute probable cause to question them about illegal activity. Two young girls driving in a car with loud music does not give police sufficient reason to pull them over. Yet this sort of racial profiling, commonly known in the African-American community as “Walking While Black” or “Driving While Black,” occurs every day.
Nor do you need to be African-American to be the victim of racial or ethnic profiling. The Law Office of Figeroux & Associates has represented clients in all communities, and a wide cross-section of clients whose constitutional rights were blatantly violated.
Were You Stopped and Searched Because of Your Race or Ethnicity?
Contact our Brooklyn law firm at 1-855-768-8845. Figeroux & Associates represents clients in the New York State area.
Racial Profiling is Illegal
Just because a certain part of town is a hotbed of criminal activity, does not make a particular individual guilty by association. It does not give police the right to detain or harass a person because they “fit the profile” or “looked suspicious.” Unless they observe a crime or act on credible information, police are bound by the Fourth Amendment, (the right against unreasonable search and seizure) and the Fourteenth Amendment (the right to due process). Figeroux & Associates, will successfully represented you in lawsuits arising from racial profiling.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
A common scenario involves pulling a car over on a flimsy excuse (for example, registration expired by one month, or “erratic driving”). Police then use that as a basis to search the car, hoping to find drugs, guns, intoxication or other evidence that supports their unjustified traffic stop. Another tactic is to aggressively question people whose only crime is walking down the street or hanging out. Police will harass and provoke them into a trumped-up charge of resisting arrest or disorderly conduct providing the basis to search and detain the person.
Racial profiling is lazy police work founded on bias. With experienced legal counsel, it should be revealed for what it is — unconstitutional and inexcusable. Contact Figeroux & Associates today.
Contact Us
New York, Civil Rights Attorneys
The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices raise serious concerns over racial profiling, illegal stops and privacy rights. The Department’s own reports on its stop-and-frisk activity confirm what many people in communities of color across the city have long known: The police are stopping hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers every year, and the vast majority are black and Latino.
If you wish to file a claim against New York City for your Civil Rights violation, call our hotline at 1-855-768-8845.
Figeroux & Associates has achieved justice for victims of police misconduct, employment discrimination and other civil rights violations. Figeroux & Associate has also established a respected law practice also handles serious personal injury and wrongful death claims, criminal defense and child dependency claims.
Set up your free evaluation with us today or refer a client!