[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department racially profiled thousands of Latino motorists on the 5 Freeway, according to an investigative report by the Los Angeles Times.
The Times examined about six years of LASD data and thousands of traffic stops by the L.A. Sheriff’s “Domestic Highway Enforcement Team.” This operation patrolled a 40-mile stretch of the 5 between Santa Clarita and Gorman, and encompassed the areas of Castaic Lake, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Tejon Pass, a mountain artery known as the Grapevine.
The Times found that more than two-thirds of the drivers pulled over by the Domestic Highway Enforcement Team were Latino. The Times analysis also found that the sheriff’s deputies searched the vehicles of more than 3,500 of these brown drivers, who turned out didn’t have any drugs or other illegal items.
The Sheriff’s Department refuted the newspaper’s report. “We do not racially profile. We make stops based on behaviors and vehicle code violations, not ethnicity,” said Asst. Sheriff Eddie Rivero, in a statement released just hours after the publication of the Times article.
The operation made a slew of busts: more than 1,000 arrests. Deputies also netted a ton of methamphetamine, two tons of marijuana, 600 pounds of cocaine, and millions of dollars in suspected drug money. This begs the question: Is violating the civil rights of a whole class of people by racially profiling them worth it to keep drugs off California’s busiest highway?