POLICE MORE LIKELY TO STOP BLACKS THAN WHITES, PORTLAND DATA SHOW

PORTLAND - Blacks were 2.6 times more likely than whites to be
stopped by police in the first quarter of the year, but black
motorists were ticketed or arrested at about the same rate as whites,
according to data released Thursday.

Between January and March, Portland police stopped 4,849 blacks, or
130 per 1,000 black Portland residents. That compares with 20,086
whites stopped, or 49 per 1,000 white Portland residents.

When stopped, blacks were about twice as likely to be searched as
whites. Yet when searched, blacks were no more likely than whites to
have drugs, weapons, alcohol or other contraband on them.

Police Chief Mark Kroeker released the data and later shared it with a
panel on racial profiling that he assembled last year.

"We wish to use the data to open up a discussion with the community,"
Kroeker said.

Kroeker and Assistant Chief Bruce Prunk were reluctant to draw any
conclusions until the bureau can consult with independent analysts.