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California

Students allege racial profiling

By Tiffany Hsu
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Nineteen minority students from Los Angeles Trade Tech who were detained during a narcotics search operation sued the Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles County on Thursday, alleging racial profiling and demanding an apology.

At the ACLU’s downtown office, six of the students discussed the Oct. 17 incident, in which 14 deputies stopped 33 black students for more than an hour.

A Latino student, also a plaintiff, was detained after recording video of the incident on his cellphone.

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Attorneys said they hope the lawsuit will prompt Sheriff Lee Baca to apologize to the students. The claim also seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Results from an investigation launched last month by the Board of Supervisors are expected in March. A separate investigation conducted by the Los Angeles Community College District, which oversees Trade Tech, found that deputies used racial profiling when they detained the students.

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-- Tiffany Hsu

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Tiffany Hsu

Tiffany Hsu is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote about the California economy, fast food, restaurants, retail and alternative energy for the Business section. A Bay Area native, UC Berkeley graduate and eternal Nor-Cal fan, she once worked for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She also did a stint at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where she developed a passion for sweet tea. She still has faith that someday she’ll find two economists who agree.

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