A state lawmaker joined community groups at a news conference Tuesday to discuss legislation that would extend the protection of minorities under a proposed racial profiling bill.
Supporters say the measure is necessary to strengthen Rhode Island's existing racial profiling law, but law enforcement says it goes to far.
Key components of the bill would:
- Require officers to document in writing their probable cause for conducting a search during a traffic stop.
- Bar officers from asking drivers for any documentation other than license and registration without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
- Bar officers from asking passengers in a vehicle for identification without probable cause.
- Restrict searches of juveniles on the street if they've only given verbal consent.
Channy Neou said a few years ago he was mistaken for an Asian gang member.
"After the whole ordeal, I walked away angry and defeated, like my pride was ripped away from me. I was labeled something I'm not. He judged me before he even knew me, and the judgment was wrong," said Neou, who was 17 at the time.
State Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence, said the measure is about protecting minorities and juveniles.
"They are standards that will protect residents from questionable police practices without in any way preventing police from doing their job," Diaz said.
The president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, Edward Mello, said his organization opposes the bill as it's written because it would limit the scope of the work police officers can do.
"The traffic stop continues to be the most important tool that a police officer has for gaining information about who's in the communities, who's out on the streets, who's committing crimes, who's not committing crimes," said Mello, the police chief of Westerly.
Mello said some of what's in the legislation is already being worked on, such as collecting data on all traffic stops. He also said police officers across the state are undergoing training specific to traffic stops.
"It's a combination of diversity training, understanding different cultures, and how to conduct yourself during a traffic stop," Mello said.
Supporters say the measure is necessary to eliminate a problem that remains a reality.
"I have been stopped more than once in more than one city and more than one time. It's embarrassing, humiliating and degrading," said Onna Moniz-John of East Providence.
The measure was introduced earlier this month and referred to House Judiciary Committee. No hearing has been scheduled.
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