Hall County Sheriff Steve Cronic and Gainesville Police Chief Frank Hooper will attend, each accompanied by several front-line officers. Cronic and Hooper have met previously with the council. They certainly are eager to hear from the community about how their departments are perceived. Racial profiling is the practice of stopping and questioning motorists about their activities based on nothing more than the color of their skin. Also, those complaining about the practice need to listen to the officers' explanation of why a certain routine is followed.
Law officers have a very difficult task.
An officer's safety, and that of the public, depends on all persons involved understanding the consequences of their actions. The Human Relations Council is taking a leadership role in sponsoring the meeting, which stems from an incident earlier this year when four high school students were stopped by a city officer. The teens believe they were victims of racial profiling and filed a complaint. An internal investigation, including a review of video of the stop, resulted in Chief Hooper saying the officer acted properly. The Hall County Sheriff's Office and Gainesville City Police both have stringent policies prohibiting racial profiling.