Irrational fear, particularly of people of color, has shaped the American criminal justice system. For nearly 350 years, de jure segregation in America created a caste system based on race. The myth of the “black bogeyman” has endured for centuries and taken many forms.
This Article explores the impact of racial fear on a critical but little-examined “unofficial” actor in the criminal justice system: the civilian complainant. It considers how bias-motivated civilians weaponize law enforcement to respond to their irrational racial fears through misuse and abuse of 911.
The consequences of weaponized racial fear are simply too great to ignore. At its core, this Article challenges the popular notion that improving the quality of police interactions with people of color can sufficiently lessen this epidemic of racial fear.
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