PAW PAW (WKZO AM/FM) –The American Civil Liberties Union has had its suspicions for a while that State Police Officers have been racially profiling consciously or unconsciously, when they make traffic stops.
Beginning last year, the Troopers were told to write down the races of the people they pulled over because of the concerns.
Now an analysis by the ACLU of some those records show that nearly half of all people pulled over were either black, Hispanic or Asian, even though they make up a much smaller percentage of the population.
Only a quarter were identified as white and the rest were of undetermined race. The information comes from 84 stops made in southwest Michigan…what the State Police call District Five headquartered in Paw Paw.
The ACLU’s Mark Farner says it’s not definitive proof, but it certainly suggests that further investigation is warranted.
The State Police say they planned their own analysis of the data but that it had not yet begun.
