CHP NAMED IN SUIT TO END 'PROFILING'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two state police agencies were named Thursday in a
federal suit demanding an end to "racial profiling" - the use of race or
color to decide who is stopped by officers on the highway.

The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the California
Highway Patrol and the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, asks for
monetary damages and an injunction forbidding racial profiling in traffic
stops. It also asks that the agencies collect data on the race and ethnic
background of motorists stopped for traffic violations.

The suit stems from an incident on June 6, 1998, when Curtis Rodriguez, a
Hispanic attorney from San Jose, observed five traffic stops in a 10-mile
stretch of Highway 152 near Pacheceo Pass about 90 miles south of San Francisco.

All the drivers were Hispanic, the suit said.

As his passenger, attorney Arturo Hernandez, too pictures of the last two
stops. Rodriguez refused permission for the officer to search his car, but
the officer searched anyway. He found nothing.

"What happened on Pacheco Pass that day was illegal, it was immoral, it was
racist, and it's high time these practices stop," Rodriguez said.

"The war on drugs has taken a tremendous toll on the vast majority of people
of color who are innocent and law-abiding," said attorney Michelle
Alexander, director of the Northern California ACLU's Racial Justice Project.