Poll: Blacks, whites agree police treat blacks unfairly

Though sharp gap still exists along the racial line, the majority of both African-Americans and whites say the police treat African-Americans unfairly, a new poll said Wednesday.

According to the poll by the National Bar Association, 88 percent of African-Americans say the police treat African-Americans unfairly, while 59 percent of whites hold the same view.

The perception gap in the southern part of the country is larger than that in the northern part, said the poll.

In the South, some 90 percent of African-Americans hold such view while 55 percent of whites think the same. In the Northeast, the poll found that the gap between African-Americans and whites who hold the view is only 11 percent.

Meanwhile, more whites, 67 percent, said police are misunderstood by African-Americans, while 52 percent of African-Americans hold the view.

The poll came at a time when a series of alleged excessive use of force by the police against African-Americans have triggered heated debates nationwide about racial tensions in the country. Endit