Howard County police officers last year stopped and searched black motorists at higher rates than drivers of other races, police statistics reveal ? data that the county branch of the NAACP said amounts to “racial discrimination.”
However, the police department defends its employees, saying that it strictly forbids racial profiling on county roads and that its traffic stop data reflect the demographics ofthe Baltimore metropolitan area.
“Racial profiling is not tolerated in this department,” said police spokeswoman Pfc. Jennifer Reidy. “That?s why we keep these numbers to make sure that that does not happen in Howard County.”
In 2005, Howard County officers stopped black motorists in 29.1 percent of traffic stops, police data shows.
Blacks account for 14.4 percent of county residents and 28.2 percent of Baltimore metropolitan residents.
Whites accounted for 62.9 percent of traffic stops, while they make up 74.3 percent of the county population and 68 percent of the Baltimore metropolitan area population.
About 53 percent of Howard County?s traffic stops involve county residents.
About the same number of black and white drivers had their vehicles searched during traffic stops last year ? 36 compared with 37.
However, given their percentage of the population, that meant blacks were about three times more likely than whites to be searched.
“We?ve had a problem for years and we?ve still got one,” said Jenkins Odoms Sr., the president of the Howard County Branch of the NAACP. “There?s something wrong with that picture, isn?t it? I?m not a rocket scientist, but it sure looks like racial discrimination to me.”
Police point out that Howard County is a main thoroughfare between Baltimore and Washington D.C., along Interstate 95, Route 29, Route 32 and Route 1.
Officers said nearly half of their traffic stops come from drivers who live outside of Howard County.
Police Chief Wayne Livesay said he has never before heard a complaint from the NAACP about his department?s use of traffic stops and that the search data is too small to be “statistically significant.”
“We?re talking about less than 1 percent of all traffic stops that result in searches,” he said.
But Odoms said he doesn?t buy the police department?s rationale and points out that more than half of the department?s traffic stops involve county residents.
He said many black Howard County residents believe that police target them because of their race, but are too busy with their jobs to complain.
“The data speaks for itself,” he said. “When people are receiving tickets, most of the time they pay the fine and they move on.”
Percentage of Traffic Stops by race
» White 62.9
» Black 29.1
» Hispanic 2.0
» Asian 5.1
Source: Howard County Police Department
