SUIT CLAIMS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION BY POLICE

ACLU Says Officer Used Racial Slur After Stopping Students

PEORIA - A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday says three Woodruff High
School students were searched and detained during a November 2000
traffic stop because they were black.

The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of
the students, also states one student was called a racial slur after
he repeatedly told an Illinois State Police trooper there were no
drugs in the car.

Corey Scott, Artie McFadden and DeMir Fisher, all varsity basketball
team members at the time, are seeking unspecified compensatory and
punitive damages for violations of their rights under the Fourth and
14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Named as defendants are Troopers Jason Bevard and Clint Cowling,
although ACLU attorney Harvey Grossman said the suit could expand to
include others, such as the Illinois State Police.

During a noontime press conference, the three students, flanked by
their mothers and ACLU attorneys, told reporters how the conduct of
the troopers shocked, angered and embarrassed them.

"The trooper started asking me about drugs. He treated me like I had
done something illegal, like I was a criminal," said Scott, 18, and
now a senior. "He used the 'n-word.' I was scared to see him so
angry."

Fisher said young black men often are targeted by police, but the
Nov. 24, 2000, traffic stop was different.

"I've been stopped and questioned before, but this is the farthest it
has gone," he said.

The nine-page lawsuit alleges the three young men - wearing shirts
with ties - were riding in a car driven by assistant basketball coach
Bob Ketchem, who is white, on their way to a tournament in Galesburg.
The car was stopped by Bevard for speeding on Interstate 74 just east
of Forrest Hill.

From there, things quickly went downhill, the suit says. Scott didn't
have a driver's license, so he told Bevard his name. The officer then
allegedly accused the basketball player of lying about his identity,
ordered him out of the car, searched him and detained him in his
squad car, where he repeatedly questioned Scott about whether there
were drugs in the car he'd been in.

As Scott repeatedly denied any illegal activity, Bevard got angry and
called Scott a racial slur, the suit contends. It was then, Scott
said, he knew his race, not his actions, caused the incident.

The two other players were also searched without their consent, the
suit alleges.

After drug-sniffing dogs found nothing, Ketchem was issued a speeding
ticket and Scott received a citation for not using a seat belt - a
ticket later dismissed in Peoria County Circuit Court. The entire
incident took about 30 minutes.

Afterward, Scott filed a complaint against the trooper and took a lie
detector test administrated by the State Police. The department's
examiner wrote in a report that Scott answered truthfully to
questions regarding whether Bevard used racial slurs.

Despite that, State Police found last spring Scott's complaint lacked
sufficient evidence to proceed. Soon afterward, the ACLU got on the
case.

State police officials issued the following statement: "The
Department has not yet received a copy of the lawsuit announced
today. After we have had an opportunity to review it, we will
determine how we will proceed. Our department takes pride in its
professional and unbiased enforcement of the law. Beyond that, we do
not comment on pending lawsuits."

The students and others lamented the state of racial profiling in the country.

"Imagine having to plan a trip around your hometown knowing you have
to have less than two people in the car or you would get stopped,"
said Karen Scott, Corey's mother.

She noted how that night changed her son, noting he hasn't driven to
Bloomington since that stop to visit his father out of fear of being
stopped. "He almost missed a family reunion because he couldn't find
someone to go with," she said.