By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Man with backpack disrupts racial profiling discussion at church
Event designed to facilitate discussion between residents, law enforcement
0828PROFILING 0006
Oakwood Police Chief Randall Moon speaks during a discussion at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Thursday. Law enforcement representatives from around Hall County met with the Newtown Florist Club to discuss racial profiling. - photo by Erin O. Smith
An event bringing together community members with law enforcement was interrupted Thursday night when a man stood up and grabbed a backpack, prompting Gainesville Police Chief Carol Martin and other law officers to jump up from the table. Following nearly two hours of community discussion on racial profiling at St. Paul United Methodist Church, the white man, who later refused to give his name to The Times, said to the panel of law enforcement, “Don’t I look out of place?” “You looked out of place since you walked in the door,” said Brad Parks, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Region 8.