Defeat of racial-profiling bill criticized

Thursday, April 10, 2003 | 9 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The defeat of a racial profiling bill by the Senate Government Affairs Committee was criticized Wednesday by the president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, who said it could lead to the possibility of violence between police and minorities.

There is a risk, Richard Siegel said, that "social tension in the (state's) two largest counties (Clark and Washoe) will be increased."

Senate Bill 360 called for more training of law enforcement officials to guard against racial profiling, among other provisions.

Siegel said a recent study indicated that police officers unfairly target minority drivers in making traffic stops, and said that if no action is taken to solve the problem, people will "deal with this on the streets."

The bill was defeated 5-2, with Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, voting in favor of it.

Titus, who introduced SB360, originally wanted another racial profiling study conducted, but she agreed to eliminate that requirement after she realized she did not have enough votes secured.

Titus did advocate, in addition to more training, that the state Department of Motor Vehicles place a notation in its driver's handbook and on its website telling people how to report cases of racial profiling.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, voted against the bill, although the committee agreed with Raggio's proposal that it write a letter to law enforcement agencies suggesting they examine their racial profiling training and look for ways to improve it.

Raggio said the committee has put "law enforcement people in a tough spot."

"They indicated they are making every effort to comply with the present racial profiling law," he said.

Ron Dreher, representing the Peace Officers Research Association of Nevada, said police agencies are already conducting racial profiling training.

Dreher and Jim Nadeau, representing the Nevada Sheriffs & Chiefs Association, both said they had no objections to Titus' suggestion regarding the DMV website and driver's handbook.

Titus drafted SB360 after the committee killed a bill by Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, that sought to make racial profiling a misdemeanor.

A yearlong study on racial profiling found blacks and Hispanics were pulled over for traffic stops more often than whites when compared with Nevada's population makeup.

The minority drivers were also handcuffed and arrested on a higher percentage than whites, the study found.

Richard McCorkle, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, professor and expert on the topic, said to use caution when drawing conclusions from the study.

"This should not be taken as proof that Nevada law enforcement officers are engaging in racial profiling," he said.

Certain factors might not have been taken into account, McCorkle said, such as the amount of time spent on the road by various racial groups.

Also Wednesday: -- The committee rejected Senate Bill 462, which would have created a Division of Minority Health within the state Department of Human Resources.