Bull Connor Lives

Radley Balko | March 17, 2009

After the questionable police shooting of a 73-year-old black man in his town, Homer, Louisiana Police Chief Russell Mills gave this remarkable quote to the L.A. Times:

"If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names," said Mills, who is white. "I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested."

That quote alone ought to be grounds for a civil rights complaint, and more than enough for Mills to lose his job.