Uniondale fire official claims son was racially profiled

<p>Uniondale Fire Commissioner Richard Harris says his son was targeted by Nassau deputy sheriffs because of the color of his skin.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 27, 2017, 10:02 PM

Updated 2,504 days ago

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Uniondale Fire Commissioner Richard Harris says his son was targeted by Nassau deputy sheriffs because of the color of his skin.
Home surveillance footage captured the moment Richard Harris Jr., 17, pulled into his driveway in Uniondale in his aunt's Porsche and entered his house. Forty seconds later, two deputy sheriffs arrive at the door – one knocks on the front door while the other goes toward the backyard. 
"I was pretty nervous, I was just like, 'What did I do?'" says Harris Jr. 
Harris Jr. says the police asked whose car he was driving. He says they didn't believe that the car was his. 
"They profiled my son because he was in a Porsche," says Harris Sr. "The first question they asked him is whose car is this? Not license and registration."
Harris Sr. says what really bothers him is that his son was already home, parked in his own driveway and had gone into his house by the time the deputy sheriffs arrived. 
"I feel they abused their authority," he says. 
Harris Jr. says he was given a ticket for speeding for going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. He says he wants to go into law enforcement after college, and this experience will be on his mind. 
"Profiling needs to be stopped. I feel like I could change it, because I know how it is," says Harris Jr. 
 
Harris Sr. says he wants the two deputy sheriffs disciplined for the incident. 
The commissioner who oversees the Internal Affairs Unit told News 12 that the "Sheriff's Department does not racially profile anyone," but confirmed that there is an investigation into the summons that was issued. 
 


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