Decatur released its first quarterly report revealing the demographics of persons involved in police-initiated stops or field interviews, the racial makeup aligning closely to the city and surrounding areas.
Since Aug. 1, when police started tracking data, officers stopped a total 2,149 people, of whom 86 percent (or 1,858) were non-residents. Fifty-seven percent were non-white, which nearly mirrors the 2010 census for Atlanta (62 percent) and DeKalb County (63 percent).
Of the 277 Decatur residents stopped, 197 (71 percent) were white, 70 (25 percent) were African American. The 2010 census shows the city’s white/black ratio is 75/20. This report stems from claims over the past year of Decatur police’s alleged racial profiling of suspects.
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