City Councilman Under Fire, Called A Racist, For Citing FBI Crime Statistics On Black Crime

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) – A Norman City Council member is being criticized for comments he made during a recent council meeting that some people are calling racist.

“We found that in the case of Norman PD, black people were still subjected to force 3.4 times as often as white people,” representatives from the Center for Policing Equity said.

It all started with a presentation from the Center for Policing Equity about a Norman Police Department study during a City Council meeting on Tuesday.

“Our Police Department is not afraid to put data out there to work with our community partners,” Norman PD Chief Kevin Foster said during the presentation.

Ward 3 council member Kelly Lynn then called the study “garbage.”

“Looking at FBI statistics, African Americans are way more responsible for murder, robbery, all kinds of violent crimes, way disproportionate to their percentage of population. The numbers are outstanding,” said Lynn. “This seems like a big waste of time to me.”

Ward 1 council member Brandi Studley then responded.

“I am a little bit shocked by council members Lynn’s comments. I find them to be extremely disturbing and racist and I don’t appreciate that, and I apologize to our black community members that just had to listen to that,” she said.