Alamance County, North Carolina – The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in North Carolina has been found to engage in a pattern or practice of misconduct that violates the Constitution and federal law. According to a comprehensive investigation by the Justice Department, ACSO under the leadership of Sheriff Terry S. Johnson, targets Latino drivers for traffic stops, and engages in discriminatory policing activities, including the use of checkpoints in Latino neighborhoods, and the arrest of Latinos for minor traffic violations.
The investigation, which was opened on June 2, 2010, found reasonable cause to believe that ACSO engages in a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing against Latinos in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Title VI. The study of ACSO’s traffic stops on three major county roadways found that deputies were between four and 10 times more likely to stop Latino drivers than non-Latino drivers.
The Justice Department’s findings also include the use of jail booking and detention practices that discriminate against Latinos, and the sheriff and ACSO’s leadership explicitly instruct deputies to target Latinos with discriminatory traffic stops and other enforcement activities. The sheriff and ACSO leadership also foster a culture of bias by using anti-Latino epithets, and ACSO engages in substandard reporting and monitoring practices that mask its discriminatory conduct.
“The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office’s egregious pattern of racial profiling violates the Constitution and federal laws, creates distrust between the police and the community and inhibits the reporting of crime and cooperation in criminal investigations,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Constitutional policing and effective law enforcement go hand-in-hand. We hope to resolve the concerns outlined in our findings by working collaboratively with ACSO, but we will not hesitate to take appropriate legal action if ACSO chooses a different course.”
The Justice Department’s thorough and independent investigation included an in-depth review of ACSO policies, procedures, training materials, and data on traffic stops, arrests, citations, vehicle checkpoints and other documentary evidence. Department personnel also conducted interviews with more than 125 individuals, including Alamance County residents and current and former ACSO employees.
The Justice Department will seek to obtain a court enforceable, comprehensive, written agreement remedying the violations and incorporating these reforms by attempting to work with ACSO officials. Addressing these findings and creating sustainable reforms will require ACSO to commit to long term structural, cultural and institutional change, including the development and implementation of new policies, procedures and training in effective and constitutional policing.
Defendant: Alamance County Sheriff’s Office
Crime: Racial Profiling
City and State: Alamance County, North Carolina
Exact Date: June 2, 2010
Sentence or Outcome: Ongoing Investigation and Reforms
Dollar Amounts: N/A
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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