A police deputy in Banks County, Georgia has been fired after allegedly racially profiling Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Scott during a traffic stop in 2015.
The officer, Brent Register, found marijuana and MDMA in Scott’s car and arrested the player and his brother, Antonn. Last week, Judge Currie M. Mingledorff dismissed all charges against the brothers, saying Register had no grounds to pull over their car and no probable cause to arrest them. The judge also said police found the drugs through an improper search of the vehicle.
Mingledorff noted that Register had a history of disproportionately pulling over black people and said in this case Register, “did not enforce the law in a racially neutral manner.” Via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
But in his eight-page ruling, Mingledorff gutted the sheriff office’s handling of the case, singling out Deputy Brent Register, a key witness, of providing “testimony that was in contradiction to admitted documentary evidence.” Mingledorff also found it “surprising and concerning” there was no video evidence provided of the stop “in an era in which police conduct is so carefully scrutinized.”
The ruling noted that between 2015-16, Register stopped over 1,400 vehicles, resulting in eight citations issued and 47 arrests. Forty-four of those arrested were minorities, Mingledorff noting, “These numbers are truly shocking.”
Scott’s attorney Steve Weiner told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the incident “could be the worst case of racial profiling I have ever seen,” in 35 years practicing law.
The profiling was apparently so egregious that the Banks County Sheriff’s Office has fired Register, according to Banks News Today, saying in a statement that “in the profession of law enforcement, issues will arise in every agency due to an essence of individuals being imperfect.”
This case obviously got more publicity because Scott is an NBA player, but we shouldn’t overlook the fact the Register seems to have a long history of this behavior, which most of the time affected regular people, not pro athletes.
[Deadspin]
