Florida police accused of racial profiling after stopping man 258 times
Source: Daily News
A Florida police department is facing racial profiling charges after stopping a man 258 times and repeatedly charging him with trespassing at the convenience store where he works.
At least once a week for the last four years, Earl Sampson, 28, has been stopped by Miami Gardens police — and searched more than 100 times, jailed 56 times and arrested for trespassing 62 times, records show.
The only conviction he's had, according to his lengthy records, is for marijuana possession.
"They created this record," Sampson's boss and the owner of 207 Quickstop, Alex Saleh, told the Daily News Friday. "He's a good guy, a humble guy, a quiet guy. He's not a convicted felon."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/police-stop-man-258-times-charge-trespassing-work-article-1.1526422
= new reply since forum marked as read
just because he was wearing a hoodie.
Miami Gardens defends cops accused of harassing, rousting store’s clientele
Mayor Oliver Gilbert said the allegations made by Saleh about police misconduct are untrue. The city has reached out to him in the past and he hasn’t been cooperative, he said.
“We have repeatedly asked the owner of the store to provide information so we can investigate his allegations and he has refused,” Gilbert said.
However, public records, obtained by the Herald, show that Saleh did provide videos to the city. The state attorney also issued a subpoena for the videos last year, and Saleh and his attorney complied. It’s not clear what, if any, action was taken. The state prosecutor’s records were not yet available on Friday.
“I gave them seven videos,’’ Saleh said. “I gave them to the internal affairs commander, Gary Smith.”
"During one of Sampson's arrests — Sampson being just one of Saleh's alleged employees and customers subjected to police harassment — he's seen refilling a cooler inside the store when an officer walks up beside him.
"They ask him, 'What are you doing here?'" recalled Saleh. "He said, 'I work here.' The clerk said he works here. I said, 'I'm the owner, let him go. I work here.' The officer said, 'Yeah right.'
"So he has more power than me!"
According to Saleh, it doesn't stop there.
In addition to video appearing to show Sampson being grabbed by an officer while taking out the trash and at another time searched against a wall, Saleh accuses them of searching throughout his store without a warrant."
It also looks like they are going after the owner of the store. Why are they showing up at his place over and over? I hope that they win their suit and get lots of money from the city.
