REBUILDING TRUST IN THE BADGE

CHP's Settlement Is A Welcome Victory In Effort To Curb Profiling In
Traffic Stops

FOUR years ago, Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a bill to require all police
departments to document the race and ethnicity of every driver who's pulled
over.

Last week, under the pressure of a lawsuit, the California Highway Patrol
finally agreed to what lawmakers intended. The out-of-court settlement
marks a welcome victory in the effort not only to document but also to curb
discrimination against minorities that the CHP denies.

The CHP made several concessions. It agreed to keep a record of the race
and ethnicity of the driver and the reason for every traffic stop, similar
to what San Jose and other cities have been doing.

Just as important, officers will halt the subjective procedure of pulling
over drivers for minor traffic violations on the pretext of searching
vehicles for illegal substances. Latino and African-American groups have
charged that the police have used this routine, while legal, to harass
minorities. Now, it will take more than a guess to make a stop for drugs;
officers must cite a specific reason.

The CHP also will continue a moratorium on asking drivers' permission to
search cars; officers will need probable cause. Many immigrants don't
understand or feel intimidated when giving consent.

Stopping these practices won't hinder the CHP's efforts to fight crime;
most departments acknowledge that such actions reflect lazy police work.

The settlement ends a class-action lawsuit that San Jose lawyer Curtis
Rodriguez initiated after he was stopped and his car searched for drugs
while driving through Pacheco Pass four years ago. His lawyers said they
found evidence that the Highway Patrol was stopping Latinos at three times
the rate as whites.

San Jose became the first city to begin keeping a record of traffic stops,
by race. Although San Jose's reports have shown that higher numbers of
Latinos and African-Americans are stopped, the police argue that the
numbers reflect deployment of police in high-volume areas where they're needed.

The CHP may not be able to cite that defense, since traffic on state
highways generally mirrors a region's population. If there's racial
profiling, it should become apparent.

Accurate records and good practices should help regain the trust of
minorities, who for too long have felt targeted while behind the wheel.