Very often on the news, I'll hear an announcer say something like,
"The subject was a black male, about 200 lbs. and about six feet tall,
etc." Is that wrong? Is that a racial slur? Or is it simply a fact?

If the description is offered as part of an appeal to help locate somebody who
is suspected of a crime, that's completely legitimate. You also hear, "The
suspect is a white male, 35-40 years of age, with a shaved head and heavily
tattooed." In such a case, the description *is* the news.