Harry Lee Backs Off Plan to Search Blacks

Saturday, October 28, 2006
By Michelle Hunter

Based on history, skeptics would say it was bound to happen eventually.

The unprecedented union between Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hit a speed bump Thursday night after Lee suggested that his deputies would target black neighborhoods and stop, search and question people for things like standing around on the corner.

The firestorm that erupted prompted the sheriff to scrap the idea -- minus an apology -- in a joint news conference held Friday with NAACP New Orleans Branch President Danatus King.

Still, Lee remained adamant that without aggressive tactics, the cycle of violence plaguing the black community would go on.

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