What It's Like to Be a Black Cop in St. Louis County
BY ALEXIA FERNÁNDEZ CAMPBELL
PASADENA HILLS, Mo—Martise Scott had made it. He escaped the inner-city ghetto of north St. Louis, went to college, and got hired as a police officer for the St. Louis County Police Department. It was 1985, and he was one of about 50 black officers in a force of about 700.
"We were the lucky few," says Scott, who was first assigned to patrol the wealthy white suburbs in west St. Louis County.
He still remembers the looks he got from homeowners when he responded to calls. And the comments police officers made about African-American defendants. It wasn't long before he realized that the black crack dealers and users he arrested would get longer prison sentences than the predominantly white cocaine dealers and users.
"It's a thin line for a black officer," says Scott, now 49. "Nobody understands what it's like to be on both sides. You walk a tight rope."
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http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-america/population-2043/i-was-still-just-a-black-man-20140905
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