NEW PLAINTIFFS ADDED TO SUIT OVER RACIAL BIAS BY POLICE CHP

Narcs Accused Of Bogus Traffic Stops

A lawsuit that alleges California Highway Patrol and state narcotics
officers single out minorities was broadened yesterday to include more
people who claim they were harassed on the state's highways because of
their race.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the original suit against
the CHP and the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in June, asked that the suit
be made a class action on behalf of minorities who have been unjustly
pulled over near the Highway 152 and Interstate 5 interchange in Merced
County.

The suit claims officers go after minorities in a misguided zeal to stem
the flow of drugs. ACLU attorney Michelle Alexander said a favorable ruling
in a class-action suit can bring about "sweeping institutional reform" in
the way the agencies operate.

The amended lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, seeks
unspecified monetary damages and an end to so-called racial profiling in
traffic stops. The ACLU also wants to require officers to record the race
of people stopped for traffic violations and make the information public.

By using minor traffic violations as an opportunity to interrogate drivers
and search for drugs, the CHP operates "a roving program of racial
discrimination on the state's highways," said Jon Streeter, an attorney for
Keker & Van Nest, a San Francisco law firm working with the ACLU.

False Stereotyping Alleged

The suit claims that CHP and narcotics officers stop minorities as
suspected drug couriers as part of a drug crackdown called Operation
Pipeline. The practice sweeps up thousands of innocent motorists based on
false racial stereotypes, according to the ACLU.

The suit seeks class-action status for minorities pulled over near the
Highway 152/I-5 interchange near Los Banos, a major traffic artery leading
to the Bay Area. Streeter said numerous drivers have called an ACLU hotline
to report harassment along those highways.

"One of the hot spots turned out to be that particular area," he said.

CHP Commissioner Dwight Helmick said the allegations will be thoroughly
investigated.

"We do not condone the profiling or unfair treatment of people," he said.
"The real truth comes when all the facts are laid out."

The issue of racial profiling has received nationwide attention over the
past year. Lawsuits alleging illegal profiling have been filed in numerous
states.

In September, Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a bill backed by the ACLU that would
have required state and large local police agencies to make a note of the
race of drivers they stopped. Davis said there was no evidence that
profiling was a statewide problem, while the extra paperwork would burden
officers.

Many Departments Keep Records

Meanwhile, more than 35 police and sheriff's departments in California have
said officers will collect racial data. The list includes Alameda County
and the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, Richmond and San Diego.

Yesterday's action added Jose Lopez, who is Latino, and MacArthur
Washington, who is African American, to the lawsuit.

According to the suit, Washington was stopped near Highway 152 and I-5 by
the CHP and narcotics agents while on his way to pick up a co-worker in
May. Told he was stopped because the light on his license plate was
allegedly broken, Washington was given a field sobriety test and his
vehicle was searched.

Lopez and Stephanie Gevorkian, the white mother of his son, were stopped
near the same intersection because a small crystal was hanging from their
rear view mirror, the ACLU claims. Officers questioned the couple for half
an hour and searched their vehicle before letting them go without a ticket.

"I can assure you we don't train our folks to see a crystal and stop
somebody," Helmick said. "Having said that, I want a complete investigation
into that incident."