Sagging Pants Law: Black men make up 96% of town’s arrests for the offense
Black men in Shreveport, Louisiana have made up the majority of the arrests since 2017 for wearing sagging pants—an astonishing 96 percent.
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According to data from the Shreveport Police Department, 699 Black men have violated a Louisiana law that targets people wearing britches below the belt, while only 12 white men have been accused of the crime. Thirteen Black women were arrested also for the violation.
On Tuesday, City Councilwoman LeVette Fuller argued that the law should be repealed. The law is being debated after the death of Anthony Childs, 31, who police were reportedly chasing down for wearing saggy pants.
Forensic evidence showed SPD Officer Traveion Brooks fired eight shots, three of which hit Childs. Police claim Childs shot one bullet into his own chest and that was the shot that killed him, according to the coroner.
The pants sagging ordinance 50-167 which was passed more than a decade ago, gives police the right to cite violators and summoned them to court, The Shreveport-Times reports.
An amendment to the law now states it “shall itself not be grounds for an arrest or for a full search of the persons cited.”
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Violators of the law are reportedly either issued a fine of up to $100 or could be sentenced to one eight-hour day of picking up trash or another community-service based activity. A second offense can earn two days of community service and a $150 fine.
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