Cochran Protests Racial Profiling

Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran criticized police brutality and racial profiling Saturday morning at a Harvard Law School (HLS) speech and panel discussion.

Climenko Professor of Law Charles J. Ogletree introduced Cochran and moderated the panel, entitled "Police, Politics and Race," which was attended by over 300 people.

Cochran has won several multi-million dollar verdicts for victims of police brutality and is currently representing the family of Patrick Dorismond, an unarmed black man shot and killed by an undercover police officer in New York last month.

Cochran focused on racial profiling during his speech, saying targeting blacks because of their skin color is like a lesser form of Jim Crow laws.

"We call it Jim Crow, Jr., his son," Cochran quipped.

He cited a recent study in Maryland, saying that 80 percent of police traffic stops were of African Americans, while they only make up 20 percent of drivers.

"We have a new phenomenon called driving while black," Cochran said.

Panelist and state senator Diane Wilkerson, who is the only black member of the Massachusetts state senate, is currently sponsoring a bill requiring officers to record the race of drivers when they are pulled over in order to see the effects of racial profiling on traffic stops.

"Unlike most other criminal or legal requirements or laws in this country, [traffic stops] are totally discretionary," Wilkerson said.

Cochran said he believes the problem of racial profiling has become engrained in society, lowering the quality of life for many African Americans.

"If you are a person of color, you know exactly what I am talking about," he said. "What it means to go into a department store, and have someone follow you around, what it means to go into a neighborhood and to be treated differently because of the color of your skin."

Cochran said blacks find it difficult to trust police officers out of fear.

"If you live in the black community, you don't know whether to fear the cops or the robbers, or both," he said.

He cited many cases of racial profiling, including the case of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot at 41 times in the vestibule of his own apartment building in February 1999.

"He was in the vestibule of his own home…but because he was black, he was profiled," Cochran said. "So they stop him and they shoot first and ask questions later."

Cochran was involved in the pretrial and indictment stages of the trial of four New York City police officers connected with the death.

A year later, the officers were cleared of all charges in connection with the incident, setting off a firestorm of protest across the country and at Harvard.

In his speech on Saturday, Cochran also criticized New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, saying his tough policy on crime has condoned police brutality.

"To make it worse in New York, we have a mayor who, I guess if I was kind, I would say tends to be insensitive on occasion," Cochran said.

While Cochran has been criticized for playing the so-called "race card" during his defense of O.J. Simpson, he said he believes race has to be discussed as the key factor in some cases.

"Jesse Jackson says it best when he says, 'It's like trying the case of a drowning man and never talking about water,'" Cochran said.

"It's not about being popular," Cochran added. Don't let anyone ever tell you about playing the race card, because that's just an attempt by other people to keep people from talking about [race]."

Cochran said he believes citizens should attack racial profiling through the judiciary.

"We have to use the law to affect change," he said. "Despite their imperfections, I still believe that courts remain our best hope."

Cochran and Ogletree praised the work of students who have been active in protest of the Diallo verdict and police tactics, drawing comparisons to influential civil rights movement member Rosa Parks.

"This last month, it's looked like the '60s," Ogletree said. "I saw students protesting and marching and having candlelight vigils, chanting 'we shall overcome.' "

Before the panel discussion, Ogletree announced that HLS plans to have a gathering of African American alumni next fall to present the first-ever Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom to Parks.

Cochran urged students to continue their efforts, saying, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"If you keep fighting and persevering, if you believe you can fight even the most powerful government in world, you will ultimately prevail, if your cause is right and just," Cochran said.

During the panel discussion following Cochran's speech, participants said they believe the drug epidemic, low voter turnout and a corrupt judicial system are all major problems affecting the black community.

Participants included New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Norman Siegal, Boston NAACP President Leonard Alkins and Reverend Eugene Rivers.

The event was a joint venture of the Harvard Black Law Student Association and the Harvard Law Saturday School program.