New numbers Friday fueled Portland’s debate over racial profiling.

Among cyclists and pedestrians, blacks are more likely than whites to have contact with police. It's a complex issue.

We’re used to getting data about traffic stops and the number of times police contact drivers of particular ethnicities.

Friday, police offered similar data on cyclists and pedestrians.

KTVB file photo

Bikers and motorists sharing the road.

Unlike during traffic stops, when police contact someone who is walking or cycling they're often looking for a particular suspect.

“They have reasonable suspicion,” said Sgt. Brian Scmhautz, spokesman for Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer.

It's a different kind of contact but the results are similar when it comes to race data, said Jo Ann Bowman, co-chair of the Portland City Council's new racial profiling committee.

“African Americans are over-represented,” she said.

Newly released Portland police data detailing last year's contacts with pedestrians and cyclists shows whites making up 75 percent of the population with only 64 percent of all pedestrian and bicyclist police stops.

African Americans represent just seven percent of Portland’s population but they account for 24 percent of such police stops.

“I don't want to put a lot of weight on the numbers,” said Bowman, “but I think the numbers tell a compelling story.”

Bowman sits on the racial profiling committee with Portland police union president Robert King.

“There's a greater complexity to this issue than just, ‘you profile, no we don't!’ said King.

The two sides agree resolving the issue won't come from bickering over the new numbers.

“We have to recognize and understand that there is a community concern about profiling,” said King.

While the two sides start a year-long discussion on this topic, Portland’s police chief is eager for results, said Sgt. Schmautz.

“We don't want to hide behind numbers or suggest that somehow we have our head stuck in the sand on this issue but at the same time these discussions should be occurring in a rational way.”

So the stage is set for a series of public debates over race profiling.

This process could lead to new policies for Portland’s officers.

Data for police contacts with Hispanics is more proportionate to their population size but Bowman said there are concerns in that community as well.

Police say a lot of these numbers are based on calls for service.

Schmautz said, in many cases, police are simply going to where they're asked.