BLACKS IN KY. SAID PULLED OVER MORE

LOUISVILLE, KY. (AP) -- Black drivers are pulled over by Louisville Police
at almost twice the rate of white drivers, a study published Sunday found.

In a survey of more than 1,600 police reports over the past year, The
Courier-Journal newspaper found that 44 percent of the drivers who were
stopped and checked for warrants were black. The newspaper said that
equates to one out of every 75 blacks old enough to drive being pulled
over, in comparison to one out of every 163 whites of driving age.

"The imbalance was largely a result of a disproportionately high percentage
of blacks being stopped in (sections of the city) which are predominantly
white," the newspaper said.

Police Chief Greg Smith challenged the survey's methods and said he would
begin his own study of the traffic stops in January. Smith said that while
he did not believe his officers engaged in racial profiling, there may have
been exceptions.

"I know these officers. I'm not going to sit here and tell you we don't
have some that I wouldn't question," he said.

Earlier this year, Mayor Dave Armstrong fired the city's former police
chief after two officers who shot and killed an unarmed black teen-ager
suspected of stealing a car were give awards during a ceremony.

Armstrong declined to comment on The Courier-Journal study, saying he had
not seen it. But he said that even the perception of prejudice was a
concern and that police would be trained to avoid racial profiling.