‘HARASSED’

Black Drivers Three Times More Likely to Be Punished for Loud Music in Florida

Thirty-seven percent of tickets issued under a new Florida law against loud music went to Black drivers, according to a new analysis.

Black drivers make up a measly 16 percent of Florida’s driving population, but they are three times more likely to be ticketed for loud music under a new law, according to a new analysis by WUFT News. Citing traffic data and court records, WUFT News reports that 37 percent of tickets for loud music issued from May to December last year went to Black drivers. It breaks down to 11 tickets issued for every 100,000 Black drivers, compared to 3.9 tickets per 100,000 white drivers. The law against loud music, passed nearly one year ago, is ostensibly meant to cut down on noise. But some of those ticketed say the law is clearly being used unfairly, as it is left up to police officers to decide who to cite. “Stop being racists, simple. Something is disproportionately affecting one group, and it’s designed to be that way. If it’s walking and quacking like a duck, it’s a duck. It’s racist,” Carven Exantus told WUFT News. The owner of a business offering golf-cart tours around Miami, Exantus said, “We’re getting harassed to the point where I can’t even conduct business.”