Biking While Black Will Get You Ticketed Faster In Chicago

Biking While Black Will Get You Ticketed A Lot Faster In Chicago

In Chicago, biking while black is an actually thing according to the Chicago Tribune. In reported police statics, the top 10 community areas for bike tickets from 2008 to Sept. 22, 2016, include seven that are majority African-American and three that are majority Latino. Not one majority white neighborhood was mentioned, despite whites in Chicago being the majority of bicyclists.

One black bicyclist told the paper that he has experienced the discriminating ticketing trend in The Chi first hand. Patric McCoy said he was on the sidewalk in front of his own building and already off the bike when he was stopped by police. He said police warned him that he could be ticketed for “riding on the sidewalk”. The cops then used it as an opportunity to run his driver’s license to check for warrants, despite bike tickets being an administrative, not a criminal, violation and carries a fine that generally ranges from $50 to $200.

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