JURY PICKED IN FLA. RACISM TRIAL

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Police Maj. Aaron Campbell contends he was pulled
over by sheriff's deputies because he fit a racial profile they use to stop
motorists and search them for contraband.

The deputies, all white, say it was a routine traffic stop, and that
Campbell -- who is black -- became belligerent and scuffled with officers.

Lawyers on Monday seated a jury that will decide whether Campbell assaulted
the deputies or if he was using self defense during a traffic stop that was
illegal from the start. He is charged with five counts of battery on a
police officer and resisting arrest.

A black man, a white woman and four white men were chosen as jurors, with a
black woman and a white man as alternates. Testimony starts Tuesday.

Last April, an Orange County sheriff's deputy pulled over Campbell, a major
with the Miami-Dade County police force, on the Florida Turnpike for an
improper lane change and a partially obscured license tag. Campbell
disputed both violations.

The two argued, and Campbell was doused with pepper spray and stumbled onto
the turnpike before backup deputies wrestled him to the ground and arrested
him. The encounter was captured on videotape by a camera in a deputy's
squad car and later broadcast nationwide.

Campbell claims he is a victim of profiling, a technique that uses race,
age, dress, vehicle type and other factors identifying people more likely
to be involved in crimes.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution protects motorists
against selective law enforcement based on such factors as race. But the
high court also has ruled that police generally can stop motorists for
traffic violations even when the officers are really looking for evidence
of other illegal activity, such as drug use.

Spokesmen for the Orange County sheriff's office have said the department
doesn't use race-based profiles. A report by the office showed that in
1997, 20 percent of the motorists stopped by the squad were black. The
squad also seized nearly $4 million worth of drugs, mostly cocaine.

But an Orlando Sentinel analysis last summer showed the county drug squad
that patrols the Florida Turnpike carries out 6 1/2 times as many searches
on black motorists pulled over in traffic as on whites.

The FBI investigated whether civil rights laws were violated during the
traffic stop; in January, the Justice Department decided not to take any
action.