Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks with supporters during the Governor鈥檚 Ham Breakfast on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.
JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is facing criticism from some civil rights advocates for his office鈥檚 decision to scrap a key metric from the long-running state Vehicle Stops Report.
The 鈥淒isparity Index,鈥 which had been included in every report since 2000, was regularly used to show that police were pulling over Black drivers at higher rates than white motorists.
But in the latest report, covering the 2023 calendar year, Bailey鈥檚 office the Disparity Index offered 鈥渓imited analytical value鈥 and that the report already contains information on 鈥渢raffic stops and rates relative to subgroup population.鈥
Nimrod Chapel, president of the Missouri NAACP, said the exclusion of the Disparity Index papers over racial disparities still apparent in Missouri policing.
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Using the Disparity Index, the 2016 state report found Black drivers were 75% more likely than white drivers to be pulled over 鈥 a statistic the NAACP cited in the statewide travel advisory for Missouri it issued in 2017.
鈥淭he travel advisory still stands, we still collect data, but because they (Missouri officials) don鈥檛 choose to do anything to make the disparities between Black drivers and white drivers being pulled over better, they just chose to get rid of it (the index),鈥 Chapel said.
Madeline Sieren, spokesperson for the Missouri attorney general鈥檚 office, said the Disparity Index measure isn鈥檛 comparable across agencies with differing demographics and driving patterns, saying it is often incorrectly interpreted.
鈥淭hat said, we continue to look for new ways to better the Vehicle Stops Report to show an accurate representation of what occurs in vehicle stops throughout the state each year,鈥 she said in a statement. 鈥淭he report has changed in several ways since its inception, which shows the office鈥檚 history of consistently looking for ways to improve the report.鈥
The index compares traffic stops by race to a jurisdiction鈥檚 racial composition. It is calculated by dividing the proportion of stops for a race by the race鈥檚 share of the population. Values greater than 1 demonstrate overrepresentation in a jurisdiction鈥檚 stops.
For example, the statewide Disparity Index in last year鈥檚 report was 1.59 鈥 calculated by dividing the Black share of the 16-and-older population by the percentage of traffic stops in which the driver was Black.
While Black people made up 10.9% of the population, they made up over 17.3% of traffic stops 鈥 leading to the 1.59 Disparity Index value.
All Disparity Indexes between 2000 and 2022 showed Black motorists being pulled over at rates greater than their share of the population, while white drivers were almost always slightly underrepresented in traffic stops based on their share of the population.
The now-scrapped index also led to unflattering headlines for the state such as 鈥溾 in 2018 and the next year, 鈥.鈥
The latest report still allows readers to see total stops by race, and gives estimates for the state鈥檚 population broken down by race.
But there is no figure included in the report that easily allows readers to compare agencies.
鈥淚ts removal strips us and other communities of a clear, comparative benchmark, which is vital for informed discussions and interventions on racial disparities in policing,鈥 said David Hartung, chairperson of the Kirkwood Human Rights Commission.
Jim Crow-style
Chapel, of the NAACP, contends the omission of the Disparity Index signals broader issues with Bailey鈥檚 leadership of the attorney general鈥檚 office.
While someone can improve or refine the index, the attorney general鈥檚 move to just do away with it, alleging it鈥檚 not perfect, 鈥渞eally gets to the underlying motivations that we鈥檝e seen from Attorney General Bailey all the way through,鈥 Chapel said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 seem to matter what the topic is. He is supporting a Jim Crow-style approach to the law.鈥
Chapel was referring to laws enacted after the post-Civil War Reconstruction era that enforced racial segregation and allowed discrimination against Black Americans.
As examples, Chapel cited Bailey鈥檚 鈥渆dict鈥 to public universities last year directing them not to use race as a factor in awarding scholarships.
Chapel said African Americans historically weren鈥檛 allowed to enroll in colleges such as the University of Missouri. He said groups have worked with universities to 鈥渆radicate those disparities.鈥
鈥淣ow millions of dollars have been siphoned off from Black scholarships. That is absolutely a Jim Crow move,鈥 Chapel said.
Sieren said Bailey didn鈥檛 issue an edict, but 鈥減ut the relevant entities on notice about a change to existing law so they could remain in compliance.鈥
She referred to by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Students for Fair Admissions case, in which the court struck down race-based affirmative action policies at universities.
鈥淪urely, no one can expect Missouri universities to act unlawfully in violation of a Supreme Court ruling,鈥 Sieren said in a statement.
Chapel also referenced Bailey鈥檚 a Black minor, Maurnice DeClue, in the Hazelwood School District who seriously injured a white teen, Kaylee Gain, in a fight earlier this year.
鈥淏ailey used his power, his pulpit, to call for the prosecution of a child as an adult, and it鈥檚 not even his job,鈥 Chapel said.
Chapel also called attention to two 2021 cases in which Black men died in rural Missouri: the case of Derontae Martin, 19, who died at a home near Fredericktown; and and killed in a Bourbon trailer park.
鈥淶ero investigation by Bailey,鈥 Chapel said of Martin鈥檚 death. 鈥淲here is Bailey on that case?鈥 he asked regarding King.
鈥淚t is disgusting to watch state resources be used in a way where only one category of citizens are benefitting,鈥 Chapel said.
Sieren didn鈥檛 address the specific cases, but noted the attorney general lacks original jurisdiction in criminal cases, except in limited circumstances.
鈥淲hen appointed by either a judge or the governor to move in, we take that role seriously and prosecute wrongdoers to the fullest extent of the law,鈥 Sieren said in a statement.
Chapel also compared Bailey鈥檚 efforts to keep Black prison exoneree Christopher Dunn behind bars to his work to free former Kansas City police Officer Eric DeValkeneare, a white man who was convicted of killing Cameron Lamb, who was Black.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if there鈥檚 any more clear example of the animus that Bailey has in regards to race,鈥 Chapel said.
With regard to innocence cases, Bailey said in a statement that 鈥淭he criminal justice system has to have a component of finality.
鈥淭he juries of the State of Missouri under the Sixth Amendment have a right to participate in the process, and someone needs to assert the jury鈥檚 determination in the legal process,鈥 Bailey said. 鈥淭oo often, people forget about all of the evidence that was used to convict the defendant 鈥 the evidence the jury relied on 鈥 and the victims. And I want to make sure that we always honor the victims鈥 voices, because they get forgotten.鈥
