The Race Of No "Victims" (As A Lot Of Blacks Get Hurt)

If you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, this is the kind of thing that can bring down a fragile existence:

After conducting its initial review, Finkelstein's office found that between December 2010 and 2013, black males made up 85 percent of the individuals handed citations due to bike ordinance violations -- 395 out of 437. The disparity was enough to prompt a letter from Finkelstein to State Attorney Michael Satz protesting the practice.

When New Times talked to Fort Lauderdale Chief Frank Adderley last Friday about those stats, he said the numbers he had for review showed 3,180 citations since 2010, with 1,964 of the violators black and 1,135 white.

So who was right?

This week, the Fort Lauderdale PD told New Times the numbers Adderley cited were in fact the number of total bikes registered. The total number of citations given from 2010 to present, according to department spokesperson DeAnna Greenlaw, is 458. Black males did receive a disproportionate number of those citations, 397. White males received 53 citations. Greenlaw says the original, less glaring numbers were handed out because of a mix-up inside the department about media requests.

The impression police are out to get you, coupled with bureaucratic incompetence - framing your oppression in their favor - I accept all that:

Can we all just get on the same page, please?