OFFICER MAKES CLAIM OF RACIAL PROFILING

African American Files Suit Against Jefferson Police

A Louisville police sergeant filed a federal lawsuit yesterday
against the Jefferson County Police Department and two of its
officers, claiming he was a victim of racial profiling on two
occasions last year.

Sgt. Lopez High, who is African American, filed the lawsuit in U.S.
District Court alleging his civil rights were violated last July by
two county police officers. The officers pulled up when High's car
broke down on Fern Creek Road and questioned him as though he were a
''suspected drug dealer,'' said Thomas Clay, High's attorney.

Two weeks later, the lawsuit claims, High was the subject of
profiling again when one of the officers from the earlier incident
pulled him over on Fegenbush Lane. High is asking for $250,000 in
damages.

The lawsuit names Jefferson County police Officers Mark Fuchs and
Steve Moran -- who are both white -- as defendants, as well as the
department. Both Fuchs, who has been with the department for two
years, and Moran, for three years, work in the Baker District in
south-central Jefferson County.

''We cannot comment on any pending litigation at this time,'' said
Officer Stacey Redmon, a Jefferson County police spokesman.

But Clay said the incidents could signal a larger problem.

''The actions of these two officers appear to present a problem which
may be widespread,'' Clay said. ''Fortunately the individual targeted
for racial profiling in these two instances happens to be a police
officer who knew how to react appropriately.''

The Jefferson County Police Department in December began documenting
both traffic and pedestrian stops to address the issue of racial
profiling. The department's statistics have shown, however, that
about four times as many whites as African Americans were stopped --
a figure close to the racial makeup of the county, including the city
of Louisville.

High, in the lawsuit, claims he was ''deprived of his right to be
free from unreasonable searches and seizures'' when his car broke
down on Fern Creek Road on July 14.

As the car was about to be towed, Fuchs and Moran ''pulled up and
were kind of scoping the car,'' Moran said. They noticed that his
vehicle registration had expired and ordered him to produce a current
decal, which he did, Clay said. When they asked him to put the decal
on his license plate, High refused, explaining that he would comply
after the car was hauled away, Clay said.

During the incident, the lawsuit alleges, Fuchs called High ''boy,''
used profanity, and ordered him to put his hands on the car's hood
after he walked toward an acquaintance across the street. ''Defendant
Fuchs yelled at the plaintiff, 'Hey boy, get your ---- over
here,' '' the lawsuit said. High refused, the lawsuit said.

After further conversation, Fuchs asked High what he did for a living
and High responded, ''I do the same thing you do, except in a more
professional manner,'' the lawsuit said.

Moran later cited High for improper registration and no insurance,
even though he had proof of both, Clay said. The charges were later
dropped.

''The problem is this is a stranded motorist who was interrogated in
a manner similar to a suspected drug dealer,'' Clay said. Referring
to High as ''boy'' is ''paramount to a racial epithet,'' he said.

Jefferson County Police Chief William Carcara, in a letter addressed
to High and dated Aug. 7, said Fuchs would receive an oral reprimand
and that Moran and the officers' sergeant were exonerated in the
incident. The document was provided to The Courier-Journal by Clay.

Although the traffic charges against High were eventually dropped
after both sides agreed to certain facts in the case, the lawsuit
alleges the defendants tried unsuccessfully to have the case tried or
to have the presiding judge find ''probable cause'' for the citation,
''continuing the prosecution needlessly against the plaintiff.''

In the second incident, High said he was pulled over on or about July
28 when he was traveling on Fegenbush Lane, according to a complaint
affidavit filed by High with the county police internal affairs unit.

High was in a Chevrolet Cavalier that passed a county police vehicle
driven by Moran, he said in the affidavit. The county police cruiser
pulled out and followed him for two miles before he was pulled over,
High said.

Moran asked for his driver's license, which High produced along with
his police badge, the affidavit said. High said that Moran told him
he was ''all over the roadway,'' but the affidavit states he believes
he was pulled over ''because I am a black man in a black car with
tinted windows and he just wanted to see who was driving this car.''

The department informed High that there would be no disciplinary
action in the matter, according to an Aug. 23 letter signed by
Carcara and provided to The Courier-Journal by Clay.

Clay said High was disappointed with the outcome of both
investigations. ''Sgt. High is very concerned that if he had not had
his police powers and not been trained appropriately, that these
situations could have generated into something much more serious,''
Clay said.