Alabama: Statewide racial profiling alleged

State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, is calling on the U.S. attorney general to investigate the Alabama Department of Public Safety, all state troopers and other city and county law enforcement agencies across the state for racial profiling. Holmes forwarded his complaint to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday. In a one-page letter, Holmes pointed to an incident during which he said a white Alabama state trooper issued a speeding ticket to a black male driver. However, Holmes said the of ficer noted on the traf fic ticket that the male driver was white. Holmes contends the officer deliberately falsified the driver's race in the report. "I am concerned with a pattern and practice and a course of conduct by law enforcement officers in Alabama to intentionally, incorrectly report the race of recipients of traffic citations as a method of hiding their efforts of racial profiling in the state of Alabama," said Holmes, head of the civil rights division of the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus. [more]