End Racial Profiling Act of 2007

(fresh from the Washington Post)
Friday, December 14, 2007; Page A25

Anti-Racial-Profiling Bill Is Introduced on the Hill

A black congressman who alleges that he was racially profiled by Chicago police last month pushed yesterday for legislation that would ban the practice.

Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) called racial profiling "one of the most sinister issues that exists in American life."


In November, two white officers pulled Davis over and gave him a traffic ticket alleging that he swerved over the center line, which Davis denied doing. The real reason he was pulled over, Davis asserted, was that he and three other black men were in a car on a deserted street after midnight. "Ultimately, I was actually ticketed because I was driving while being black," he said.

Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the Chicago police, said the department is still investigating Davis's allegations. She said the department stands by a statement issued by Interim Police Superintendent Dana Starks, who said last month that the department does not condone racial profiling, and that the congressman was "stopped on probable cause and issued a citation for violating a traffic law."

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the End Racial Profiling Act of 2007, joined by Davis and Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.). The bill would ban federal, state and local law enforcement agencies from using racial profiling, such as "relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion" during investigative activities.