Avoyelles authorities say no racial preference given in marijuana cases

     Allegations and denials concerning racial discrimination in arrests are common in Avoyelles Parish. District Attorney Charles A. Riddle  III said he is aware of the concerns in the black community on that issue, noting that black community leaders have voiced questions about perceived racial disparities in arrests.

     Recently an online pro-marijuana magazine reported that while blacks comprise less than 30 percent of the parish’s population, almost 54.6 percent of suspects arrested on marijuana charges from 2010-2014 were black. An Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the office does not keep arrest records by race of the suspect and could not verify whether the reported figures were correct. However, the spokesman said arrests are not made based on the race of a suspect.

     Riddle also said he was not sure where the numbers came from, but noted that the figures the online report had for 2014 showed marijuana arrests, by race, were proportionate to the parish’s population.

     Marijuana is not “the drug of choice” in Avoyelles Parish. Prescription drugs, crystal meth, synthetic marijuana and other “designer drugs” pose the more serious threats in this parish, APSO Chief Deputy Maj. Steve Martel said.

     “Prescription drugs are our major problem,” Martel said.  “And that is not a white problem or a black problem. It’s a parish problem.”

 

     One reason for more blacks being arrested for marijuana over the past few years is that  most marijuana arrests are made in urban areas, where the activity is either seen by patrolling police or reported by residents that result in officers putting an area under surveillance to make arrests.

     Riddle said all areas -- town and rural -- are subject to drug problems and the parish’s Narcotics Task Force responds parishwide to reports of drug activity. The Task Force includes officers from the Sheriff’s Office, State Police and U.S. Marshal’s Service, and can include municipal officers as well.

    The parish’s black population is concentrated in the three major municipal areas -- Marksville-Mansura, Bunkie-Cottonport and Simmesport. The parish’s population in the rural unincorporated areas is predominantly white.

    Marijuana deals in municipalities are more likely to be conducted on the streets, in the open, where police can see them and make the arrest. Officers also learn the favorite drug trade locations.

    It has been compared to shooting doves in a baited field. Police know where the drug deals are going to happen. All they have to do is show up and wait.

    Riddle said a police officer cannot refuse to make an arrest just because it is in a minority neighborhood or because the dealer and/or buyer are black. Residents of those neighborhoods would not stand for that type of action. 

    In fact, he noted, many of the arrests in the black community are the result of citizens calling to report drug sales in their neighborhood and asking police to do something about the problem.

 

    Marksville City Councilwoman Mary Sampson, whose district is predominantly black, said she would like to see more police presence, not less, in those neighborhoods.

    Rural drug deals are less likely to be observed by police officers or to pose a problem for neighbors that might result in reports to authorities.

    Riddle said the fact is, “If a police officer sees the drug deal, he will make the arrest.”

    Marksville Police Chief Elster Smith said MPD detectives work throughout the city on various cases, including narcotics investigations. 

   “We do not focus on specific neighborhoods,” Smith said. “They go citywide.”

   Martel also said the multi-agency task force “does not just go to Marksville and is not just in a specific neighborhood. It goes all over the parish.”

 

   Riddle is developing a program called “Saving Our Communities”  that is designed to enlist political, business and civic leaders in a comprehensive approach to the drug problem in the parish.

   “Drug use is not just a law enforcement issue,” Riddle said. “It will take more than that to address the problem.”

   The first “Saving Our Communities” meeting will be  Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. in the Bunkie City Hall Annex. 

   A major blow against the drug trade in the parish would be struck if the twin problems of poverty and unemployment could be addressed. Riddle said people who cannot find work because of their drug use, and possibly a felony conviction, usually end up selling the product to earn income to support themselves, their habit and maybe even a family.

   “The first thing this program stresses is for people to be aware of the issues,” Riddle said. “They need to know that there is a difference between those using drugs and those selling drugs. They also need to know that ‘substance abuse’ is not just crack cocaine, marijuana, crystal meth, etc., but also includes prescription drugs and alcohol.”

   Riddle said studies indicate 90 percent of all crimes involves substance abuse in some form or another. That means that most  crimes other than possession, distribution or manufacturing of drugs has some connection to substance abuse -- such as the offender was high or intoxicated at the time of the offense or committed the crime to support his habit.

   “You have people who are caught in a trap,” Riddle said. “They have a substance abuse problem and they have a conviction on their record. They cannot get a job. They often end up violating the law to feed their family.”

   Riddle said the “Saving Our Communities” program will need community leaders and resources to “help people with their substance abuse issues and also help them get work.”

 

   Riddle said he does not prosecute first-time offenders for marijuana possession -- unless their criminal record indicates they pose a threat to the public. Instead, the first-offenders are referred to Drug Court or a district attorney’s diversion program. 

   The intent is to rehabilitate the person so that he/she can overcome their substance abuse problem rather than to punish the offender.

Riddle said the person arrested, and their family, are told that the suspect can avoid prosecution if he/she chooses to accept treatment for their substance abuse problem.

   However, a second arrest may likely result in prosecution and jail time.

   He said his office takes a harder stance on drug dealers -- even first-offense drug dealers.

   Riddle said he will be heading up the “Saving Our Communities” program himself, “but it will take the efforts of a lot of people in the communities to make it work.”