[StBernard] Newark councilman arrested in traffic stop outside New Orleans

[Westley Annis]

Newark councilman arrested in traffic stop outside New Orleans
by Katie Wang/The Star-Ledger 
Saturday April 12, 2008, 11:55 AM

Oscar Sydney James II, who was in Louisiana this week building homes for
Habitat for Humanity, was also charged with resisting arrest and littering
in St. Bernard Parish, just southeast of New Orleans. James was the front
seat passenger of a van that was pulled over for speeding. 


He was released after posting an $850 bond. The charges are all
misdemeanors.

James said the arrest was a result of racial profiling and vowed to fight
the charges.

Major Chad Clark of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office said he and his
partner stopped the van after spotting it change lanes without signaling and
going about 10 miles above the 55 mph speed limit. The van, said James, was
carrying his staff members and volunteers who joined him from Newark. 

The crew had finished were heading to lunch when they were pulled over,
James said. 

According to Clark, James was immediately irate about being stopped. 

"The passenger Oscar James II said it was a racial issue -- that he's being
stopped because he's black," Clark said. 

Clark said police asked James to step out of the car where they patted him
down. According to police, James quickly reached into his pocket, removed a
handful of large nails and threw them on the ground.

"He continued to say this was racial profiling," Clark said. "He yelled,
'This is DWB. This is DWB.'" 

DWB stands for "driving while black." Police also said James yelled
repeatedly, "Just bring me to jail." The rest of the passengers, said Clark,
were calm.

At that point, police cuffed James. 

James said he threw the nails on the grass because the officers asked him to
remove any sharp objects from his pocket. 

"I flipped my pockets inside out," he said. "They went flying all over the
place." 

James denied being loud or irate and said he never asked the police to bring
them to jail. He said one of the passengers in the van videotaped the
confrontation. 

"It's definitely racial profiling," James said. "We've dealt with several
incidents of racism since we got here."