-Caveat Lector-
"Thousands of local police nationwide were trained in the use of 'racial
profiling' by the DEA, as part of its 'Operation Pipeline,' a federally
funded anti-drug program."
Calif. Police Sued for Profiling
By WILLIAM SCHIFFMANN
.c The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Attorney Curtis Rodriguez was driving home one
afternoon when he saw a sight that disturbed him: Hispanic motorists standing
by their cars, all pulled over by the California Highway Patrol.
As his passenger, attorney Arturo Hernandez, snapped pictures of the last two
of five traffic stops, a CHP cruiser sped up behind Rodriguez and ordered him
to the shoulder.
The officer, Rodriguez said, searched his car without permission and detained
him for almost an hour.
Rodriguez, a San Jose resident, decided not to let it pass. On Thursday, the
American Civil Liberties Union, on his behalf, sued the CHP and the state
Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement
The federal civil rights suit claims that on that day -- June 6, 1998 --
Rodriguez was a victim of ``racial profiling'' -- the use of race or color to
decide who is stopped by officers on the highway, a tactic that is drawing
attention and criticism across the country.
``What happened that day was illegal, it was immoral, it was racist, and it's
high time these practices stop,'' Rodriguez said.
The suit asks for monetary damages and an injunction forbidding racial
profiling in traffic stops. It also asks that the agencies be ordered to
collect data on the race and ethnic background of motorists stopped for
traffic violations.
``No matter who you are ... if you are a person of color and you're on the
road, you are often viewed as a target by the police,'' said attorney
Michelle Alexander, director of the Northern California ACLU's Racial Justice
Project. ``This is true nationwide.''
Nathan Barankin, spokesman for the state Attorney General's office, declined
to comment. CHP Commissioner Dwight Helmick said that his department ``does
not accept or condone or allow our people to stop people on the basis of race
or gender.''
The suit was filed a day after the ACLU released a study in New York on
racial profiling which said the war on drugs has resulted in a sharp increase
in profiling. The group said at least 27,000 officers nationwide learned the
technique from the Drug Enforcement Administration as part of ``Operation
Pipeline,'' a federally funded drug interdiction campaign.
In April, North Carolina became the first state to require data collection on
traffic stops. Similar bills have been introduced in Congress and in
California, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
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