Calling it “troubling,” the Maryland American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that evidence shows Maryland State Police troopers continue to search black and Hispanic motorists at rates higher than whites.
“They?re stopping significantly more blacks and Latinos,” said Deborah Jeon, legal director of the Maryland ACLU.
In 2004, 43 percent of stopped drivers along Interstate 95 searched by police were black, 28 percent were white and 24 percent were Hispanic. In 2006, 51 percent of those searched were black, 28 percent were white and 17 percent were Hispanic.
According to U.S. Census data, blacks make up 29 percent of Maryland?s population, and Hispanics make up less than 10 percent.
Jeon said she?s also disturbed with state police training materials called “Dealing with Hispanics” she said promote stereotypes.
“Maybe that?s what?s causing in the increases in stops and searches of Latinos,” she said.
But Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley categorically denied that his agency profiles anyone when making traffic stops.
“The Maryland State Police has not, does not, nor will it ever condone racial profiling,” Shipley said in a statement.
Late Thursday, the ACLU filed a motion for summary judgment in Baltimore County Circuit Court, demanding the state police turn over key documents in the NAACP?s well-known “Driving While Black” lawsuit.
The ACLU?s lawsuit alleges violations of the Maryland Public Information Act, stemming from an information request initially made by the NAACP in February 2007.
But Shipley objected to claims his agency is not being cooperative.
He said state police have “worked diligently” and “complied in every way” with a 2003 agreement with the NAACP.
A judge could rule on the motion at any time.
