Council Asks LAPD to Study Racial Profiling

Alarmed by reports that minority motorists are singled out for traffic stops, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday asked Police Chief Bernard C. Parks to consider doing something he contends is unnecessary: study racial profiling by the LAPD.

The action follows a veto by Gov. Gray Davis of legislation that would have required such studies. Instead, Davis asked local jurisdictions to evaluate traffic stops to check for patterns of discrimination.

Councilwoman Cindi Miscikowski said in a motion seeking the LAPD study that “accusations of racial profiling have been raised repeatedly in Los Angeles. There appears to be a significant public perception that racial profiling does exist as a practice of the Los Angeles Police Department.”

Parks has said that the department does not tolerate race-based stops, so no study is needed.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California called the action a “first step,” but said a study should have been ordered instead of merely suggested.

ACLU Executive Director Ramona Ripston said 1,750 people from Southern California have called an ACLU hotline to complain that they have been singled out for traffic stops because of their color.

“It does indicate that there is some kind of a problem in Los Angeles,” Ripston said.

The council asked Parks to report back on “how such a study should be structured, how it should be undertaken and how promptly it could be commenced.”

Because the LAPD has not in the past tracked traffic stops by race, historical data will be difficult to come by, police officials say.

Gary Fullerton, a police union director, said Wednesday there is no need for a study.

“I think it’s a waste of time,” Fullerton said. “I don’t think it’s a problem at all.”

Davis vetoed legislation recently that would have mandated that all law enforcement agencies collect data on the issue, saying he believed it was up to local jurisdictions to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of a problem to warrant spending money on a study.

In a letter to Mayor Richard Riordan, Davis urged Los Angeles to join 34 other cities and counties that are conducting studies on the problem.

“While there have been some reported examples that might be deemed to be racial profiling, and as such is unacceptable in a democracy, there is not enough evidence to suggest that this problem is occurring on a widespread scale throughout the state,” Davis wrote to Riordan on Sept. 29.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said he understands there is some resistance in the LAPD to doing the study, but said such a review is essential to address deep-seated beliefs in the minority community that the practice is widespread.

“It’s a very real issue that affects people’s lives practically on a daily basis,” Ridley-Thomas said. “I’ve had too many people who I consider to be credible report to me that they have had that experience.’

Ripston said any study should include data on the race of each motorist, the officer’s reason for the stop, whether a search was conducted, and whether a ticket was issued and upheld in court.

LAPD Cmdr. David Kalish said the chief will review the council’s request but has not committed to a study. Kalish said department officials believe the issue is being addressed by department policy but also support a proposal by Riordan to strengthen that policy.

“The department would never tolerate race-based law enforcement,” Kalish said.

He noted that Riordan responded to Davis, promising to ask the Police Commission to formally adopt a “zero tolerance” policy toward racial profiling and to “vigorously monitor its implementation.”