ACLU-NC to Call on Public to Help Document Racial Profiling by Police at Tuesday Press Conference

Victims of Racial Profiling at Police Traffic Stops Will Speak Alongside ACLU Attorney and Encourage Public to Help End Racial Profiling by Writing Down and Reporting Experiences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

RALEIGH – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) will host a press conference tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, to announce the launch of a new campaign aimed at combating racial profiling in police traffic stops in North Carolina.

The civil rights organization has spent years investigating reports of racial profiling and racially biased policing in traffic stops across the state, most recently leading the Winston-Salem Police Department to adopt new guidelines for conducting vehicle checkpoints. A recent report from a University of North Carolina professor found that in North Carolina, African American drivers are 77% more likely than white drivers to be searched after a traffic stop, while Hispanic drivers are 96% more likely than white drivers to be searched.

Tomorrow the ACLU-NCLF will call on victims of racial profiling to write down and document their experiences in order to assist the organization with public education, lobbying, and the creation of community based solutions to the problem of racial profiling, with an eye to possible litigation if necessary.

WHAT: Press conference to announce new ACLU-NC campaign calling on the public to help document reported incidents of racial profiling in police traffic stops.

WHO: Victims of racial profiling from Wake County, Durham, and Fayetteville, as well as ACLU-NCLF Racial Justice Attorney Raul Pinto

WHEN: 10 a.m., Tuesday, September 18, 2012

WHERE: First floor conference room, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, 1312 Annapolis Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605

The ACLU of North Carolina is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving and expanding the guarantees of individual liberty found in the United States and North Carolina Constitutions and related federal and state civil rights laws. With more than 11,000 members and supporters throughout the state and an office located in Raleigh, the organization achieves its mission through advocacy, public education, community outreach, and when necessary, litigation.