Berkeley City Council to discuss racial disparities in police review commission report

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Even though African Americans make up less than 10 percent of the population in Berkeley, they are six times more likely to experience use of force from police than white residents, according to a new report.

Berkeley's city council is set to discuss that report Tuesday night.

They looked at data from the police department from 2015 and concluded there are clear patterns of bias.

For example, black pedestrians were three and a half times more likely to be stopped by the police than were white pedestrians, but walked away with few arrests or citations, indicating people are being stopped for no reason.

The report has a number of recommendations, including getting body cameras for police as soon as possible and having police ask a person if they can search them - and not allowing them to without consent.

Police did respond-- saying, "Our officers receive training on racial profiling and inherent bias. We have a general order dedicated to Fair and Impartial Policing. As a department we are committed to policing our community with equity."