Tag: Racial Profiling

  • Police: ‘We Do Our Very Best to Reach Everyone’

    Police Chief William Lansdowne let a key check on racial profiling slide because he hadn’t heard it’s a concern in the community. Here’s what the department does to open lines of communication, and why some voices aren’t being heard. | Video Credit: Brian Myers, Media Arts Center San Diego By Megan Burks Assistant Police Chief…

  • The Promise, and Problems, That Come With Police Data

    An SDPD officer makes a stop along Euclid Avenue in Valencia Park. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Liam Dillon Eleven years ago, researchers examining racial data from San Diego police traffic stops found officers were more likely to pull over black and Hispanic drivers than whites. Then they ran into some problems. Too many…

  • Explainer: Why DUI Checkpoints Are Legal

    By Liam Dillon Many readers of our guide to when police can pull you over raised an interesting question. Police need to believe you’ve done something wrong before they can stop you, otherwise pulling you over could violate your Fourth Amendment rights. But what about DUI checkpoints, which allow police to stop cars and check…

  • When Police Can – and Can’t – Pull You Over

    An SDPD officer makes a stop along Euclid Avenue in Valencia Park. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Liam Dillon It makes sense that traffic stops often become the focal point for allegations of racial profiling. The enforcement of some traffic laws can be nebulous and discretionary, and stops tend to be the most frequent…

  • What It Means to Be ‘Black While Blue’

    Benjamin Kelso, head of the local Black Police Officers Association, pictured at the location where he believes fellow SDPD officers racially profiled him at a traffic stop 20 years ago. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Liam Dillon Benjamin Kelso thinks parents in minority-dominated areas of San Diego should be aware of the color of…