The ACLU of Southern California filed a federal lawsuit today seeking to block the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from the practice of "racial profiling," in which officers stop and search nonwhite motorists based on the color of their skin. The case sheds further light on this discriminatory practice, which violates the basic guarantees of liberty and equality firmly embedded in the U.S. Constitution and our nation's civil rights laws.

The ACLU brought the suit on behalf of three black and two Latino men who, within the past year, were subjected to five separate encounters with the LAPD as they drove to work or to their homes.

The suit recounts how the LAPD followed, stopped, and detained each of these men, for no valid reason. "The stated grounds for the stops were trumped-up and phony," said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's Executive Director. "In reality, they committed no offense but were stopped for 'driving while black or brown,' or 'DWB'. There is no way in the world what happened to them would have occurred if they were white."

Alberto Lovato, a professional musician and preschool teacher, was followed for over two miles by the LAPD, ordered out of his truck at gun point, forced to lie face down on the ground, handcuffed, searched, and accused of being a gang member, all before the police looked at his driver's license and vehicle registration -- or even asked for them.

The experiences of Carlos Gonzalez, a public school math teacher, and Timothy Campbell, a licensed realtor and building contractor, were strikingly similar. In both cases, LAPD officers made U-turns to follow Gonzalez and Campbell, and both were ordered out of their vehicles by police officers, Campbell at gunpoint. Gonzalez and Campbell were searched and told that they had been stopped because the police suspected that they had stolen their cars. Twenty minutes passed before the police asked either Gonzalez or Campbell for their driver's licenses and registration, during which time Gonzalez was handcuffed. In both instances, the police concocted false after-the-fact stories that Gonzalez and Campbell had been speeding.

David Askew, an actor, was followed by LAPD on a deserted street after midnight. He was stopped, handcuffed, and accused by officers, whose hands were primed on their holstered guns, of being a dangerous criminal suspect. Askew contested the speeding ticket the police finally issued, and it was thrown out of court.

Tonye Allen, a freelance photographer, was trailed for at least a half a mile in the early hours of the morning. He shifted lanes several times, believing that police officers wanted to pass him. Yet the police continued to follow him, shifting lanes each time Allen did. Ultimately, Allen was stopped and told that he had been impeding traffic, even though there were no other vehicles on the road except for the police car. Allen's ticket for driving too slowly was also voided by the traffic court.

"What these men have endured at the hands of their police is, sadly, a daily reality for motorists of color in Los Angeles," said ACLU Staff Attorney Catherine Lhamon. "Through this lawsuit, these men seek to eradicate the injustice of racial profiling by the police and to end the terror persons of color feel when stopped and scrutinized'often at gunpoint and in handcuffs'for no valid reason."

Last year, Governor Gray Davis vetoed a bill that received strong bipartisan support in the legislature, which would have required law enforcement agencies in California to collect and maintain data on the race or ethnicity of drivers who are stopped by the police. At least seventy municipalities throughout California have agreed voluntarily to gather and keep this data. Los Angeles has refused to take even this first step -- despite clear evidence of a problem. In 1999, the ACLU instituted a statewide DWB hotline (1-877-DWB-STOP) and discovered that an overwhelming number of cases were generated in Southern California.

'The suit filed today seeks justice for five men who were victimized by the very officers sworn to protect and serve them, solely on the basis of their skin color. A police department cannot function effectively if it does not have the trust of the community that it serves," said Michael Small, the ACLU's Chief Counsel. "Here, in Los Angeles, that trust has been severely eroded in recent months in the wake of an unprecedented police corruption scandal that has seen revelations that the LAPD fabricated evidence and framed individuals for crimes that they did not commit. What happened to Carlos Gonzalez, Tonye Allen, David Askew, Timothy Campbell, and Alberto Lovato is further evidence of a police department that has utter disregard and even contempt for civil rights and civil liberties."

"Regardless of who my family is or where they come from, I have the right to be as equal a citizen as any other in America"

In response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed last week, the National Security Agency has agreed to 'fairly and fully'' review an application for their prestigious Undergraduate Training Program by a young man previously rejected for consideration based solely on the fact that he resides with an elderly grandmother who is not a U.S. citizen. The ACLU filed the action, Edward Doe v. National Security Agency (CV00-45 RT), last Thursday on behalf of a high school senior of Taiwanese descent with a straight-A GPA at Riverside Poly High School, who applied to the NSA's Undergraduate Training Program in November 1999.

The program provides full college tuition and other benefits for students who commit to working for the NSA after college graduation. Along with academic transcripts that show him to have placed in the 99th percentile on both the verbal and math SATs, Edward wrote, 'I believe my credentials show I am a nearly ideal candidate for your program. In addition, I have no doubt about my loyalty to the United States - I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and I consider myself an American above everything else. To serve my country in the NSA would be a dream ...'

Although Edward is a U.S.-born citizen, the NSA denied his application solely because he lives with his elderly grandmother who, while in this country legally, is not a U.S. citizen. The ACLU's complaint against the NSA states 'The rejection of Mr. Doe's application, without any consideration of its merits, directly violates his rights to equal protection, due process, free association and the privileges and immunities of U.S. citizenship.'

"Over a half-century ago, the United States government categorically deemed Asian Americans to be a security risk, sending over 100,000 to internment camps merely because of their Japanese ancestry,' said ACLU staff attorney Dan Tokaji. 'Sadly, this case reveals that discrimination by the United States government is not just a thing of the past. We are pleased that the National Security Agency has agreed to give full and fair consideration to Edward's application. Now, the NSA must change its discriminatory policy, so that other qualified applicants are not denied the opportunity to serve their country merely because of their ancestry."

Edward praised the NSA's decision to re-evaluate his application. "I'm grateful that the NSA has decided to accept my application, but I hope that everyone else rejected or dissuaded from the NSA for the same reason will get the same chance I do."

Clear LAPD policy, adopted over two decades ago, was flagrantly violated by Rampart CRASH officers when they arrested former gang member Alex Sanchez on an INS warrant. Sanchez is now a peacemaker, working to bring about gang truces and provide training and job opportunities to former gang members. What possible justification can the police have for going after gang violence prevention efforts instead of enforcing laws against gang violence?Worse yet, the officers appear to have been acting in retaliation against Mr. Sanchez for his testimony last September before a State Senate committee investigating police abuse against former gang members.

Investigations in the corruption scandal rocking the Rampart CRASH unit have revealed a pattern of arrogance, intimidation and lawlessness. We now add retaliation for public exposure of police abuse to the appalling list. If the police have their way, Alex Sanchez will not speak out again, sending a clear message to all victims of police abuse, documented and undocumented: "If you know what's good for you, don't talk." These most recent CRASH unit actions drive a stake through the heart of our democratic system of government.

Special Order 40, enacted in 1979, bars police from enforcing federal immigration laws. The Police Commission and top LAPD officials strongly re-affirmed the Order just three years ago.

Special Order 40 is essential. Immigrants are disproportionately the target of crime. Victims and witnesses concerned that they will be questioned about their immigration status - or arrested and turned over to INS officials by the police - will refuse to come forward. The result is inevitable: immigrants will become easy prey for criminals who know the victims will not report offenses to the police for fear of being deported.

I have great respect for the integrity and good faith of the Police Commission and its president, Gerald Chaleff. We are pleased to see some movement from the Commission on police reform, but this proposal is still no substitute for the creation of a truly independent panel. The Police Commission has proposed assembling a group of experts to help it review the Board of Inquiry report, and, eventually, discuss ideas for reform. Essentially, this group's mandate and the parameter of its inquiry will be set by the Commission, and to a large extent by the Board of Inquiry report itself.

The Police Commission is part of the department and part of the problem. It can no more be given the sole responsibility for examining itself than could Chief Parks.

The way to real reform is through an independent civilian inquiry - just as the way to clean police practices is through meaningful, on-going civilian oversight. The Commission's report says that this is their defining moment, but the defining moment for the Commission came a long time ago, when the LAPD dug in its heels against the civilian review process. Now, nothing short of a truly independent panel will get the people of Los Angeles the civilian oversight mechanism and the police department they deserve.