MANHATTAN-RILEY COUNTY COALITON FOR EQUAL JUSTICE
equaljusticercks@gmail.com
Why in Riley County is a black person more than 4 times more likely
to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person?
The Manhattan-Riley County Coalition for Equal Justice are local citizens concerned that
the Riley County Police Department is letting racial bias affect its enforcement of drug
laws. With the help of a Kansas State University researcher, the Coalition has investigated
the Riley County Police Department’s official arrests reports, submitted to the U.S.
Department of Justice from 2010-2013.* Here is what we have found.
In the U.S. black people use
marijuana at roughly the same
rate as white people, according
to survey research covering
2001-2010.**
We see that black persons in Riley County are 4.2 times more likely than white persons
to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to U.S. Department of Justice
statistics for 2013. And this inequality in arrests rates is getting worse. It rose by 50%
between 2010 and 2013. In those years the RCPD intensified its enforcement of state
marijuana prohibition law, and African Americans have born the brunt of this increase.
We believe our findings offer strong evidence that the Riley County Police Department
is treating black persons more harshly than white persons in their decisions about who
to arrest for possession of illegal drugs. We want to know why, and we have asked the
Director of the Riley County Police for an explanation.
Is the rapid increase in marijuana racial arrest inequality from 2010 to 2013 motivated by
an increase in deliberate racial discrimination by individual RCPD officers? Or by an
increase in unconscious bias among officers on patrol? Or does it stem from department
policies, training, and institutional priorities? -- So far we have received no answer.
-2This is a serious matter. Currently a person found guilty of a misdemeanor drug offense, is
punishable with a fine of up to $2,500, one year in jail, or both, and there is credible
evidence that many employers will reject job applicants with any drug conviction on their
record.
The racial disparities we have uncovered are not unique to Riley County. A
comprehensive study found that the racial inequality in arrest rates for marijuana
possession was 3.7 to 1 across the country – and in Kansas 4.4 to 1. It seems likely,
therefore, that this racially unequal treatment by police in our community reflects a
widespread anti-black stereotype in American society, associating African Americans with
drug addiction and criminal behavior.
We strongly urge the RCPD to fully investigate the causes of whatever biases, practices, or
policies are causing the racially unequal treatment our research has uncovered. And we
urge that the RCPD eliminate the unequal arrest rates we have found in our city and
county.
Individuals Supporting the Manhattan-Riley County Coalition for Equal Justice
Muefua Lewis, President 2015-16, K-State Black Student Union
Justice Davis, President 2014-15, K-State Black Student Union
Shaun Dowdell, President, K-State American Ethnic Studies Student Association
Jeremy Briggs, K-State Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work
John Exdell, Chair, Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice
Rev. Jonalu Johnstone
, Minister, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan
Bryon Williams, Advisor to K-State Black Student Union
Rev. Rachel Williams-Glenn
, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
, First Congregational United Church of Christ
Pastors Richard Gehring and Barbara Krehbiel Gehring, Manhattan Mennonite Church
Rev. Paul Allen, First Christian Church, Manhattan KS
Rev. Patrick Funston, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Manhattan KS
Edith Guffey, Conference Minister, KS-OK Conference of the United Church of Christ
Rev. David A. Jones (Campus Pastor, K-State Ecumenical Christian Ministries)
*We are very grateful to Will Chernoff for his research on Riley County racial inequalities in
marijuana arrests. Mr. Chernoff has a M.A. in Statistics at Kansas State University and is currently
a Ph.D. student in the K-State Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. The
Department of Justice Uniform Crime Reports is the source of data on white and black annual
marijuana arrests. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program was the source for
determining the number of white and black residents in Riley County.
** American Civil Liberties Union, “The War on Marijuana in Black and White”, p. 48.
Manhattan-Riley County Coalition for Equal Justice
equaljusticercks@gmail.com