Boulder is facing the question of whether its police department has a problem with racial profiling, according to a recent analysis by USA Today.
Boulder had the second-highest disparity in the frequency of arrests for blacks and non-blacks in the state of Colorado between 2011 and 2012.
African-Americans in Boulder were five times more likely to be arrested than all other races. The only police department in the report with a higher disparity was Arvada, where black people were six times more likely to be arrested than others.
“I really doubt blacks are committing more crimes than whites, so it makes me wonder what police are doing,” said Hillary Potter, a University of Colorado ethnic studies professor who specializes in criminology.
In 2013, African-Americans were arrested 172 times, about 6 percent of the city’s arrests, despite a 2013 American Community Survey showing a Boulder black population of only 913, less than 1 percent. In 2014, police have arrested black people 140 times, about 5 percent of the total arrests this year.
Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa said while the department is reviewing those arrest numbers internally, they don’t tell the whole story, and they are not the result of discrimination against blacks.
“Our officers do not profile people,” Testa said. “We treat people with fairness and respect.”
