Measure targets biker 'profiling' by police

Measure targets biker 'profiling' by police

By JESSICA BLANCHARD
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCE REPORTER

Saying they are tired of being targeted for traffic stops by police, motorcycle enthusiasts and some state lawmakers are lobbying for a bill to ban "motorcycle profiling."

Proponents of the bill say they have gathered anecdotal evidence of overzealous police harassment of motorcyclists. And while the practice may not be widespread, "there are places in the state where this is a problem," said the bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Steve Kirby, D-Tacoma. "There wouldn't be the need for a bill if someone, somewhere, wasn't doing it."

The bill, which is scheduled for a public hearing before the state House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee on Thursday morning, would require local law enforcement agencies to adopt policies condemning motorcycle profiling, review their current procedures to make sure they don't encourage the practice and provide officers with more training.

Ed Bushnell, an active member of the regional chapter of the American Motorcycle Association, likes the idea. While he has never been pulled over while riding his Harley-Davidson, he knows people who have been.

"If you have a Harley and black leather on, they think you're not a law-abiding citizen," he said.

If bikers are being pulled over without a valid reason, "we can't tolerate that," said House Speaker Pro Tem John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, a longtime Washington State Patrol sergeant and a co-sponsor of the bill.

To Lovick, the fact that some bikers feel that they have been harassed shows that the law is needed.

"If they're saying it's a problem, I think it's worth it to address it," he said. "It's just as important as racial profiling is to the members of the minority community."

Kirby stressed that the law is designed to rein in the few rogue police officers who engage in motorcycle profiling.

"The vast majority of people on these bikes, they're just regular folks," he said. "To assume they're all criminals because they ride motorcycles is quaint, if nothing else. And I think most good professional police officers know that."

Some motorcyclists question whether a law is really necessary.

The few times Bremerton biker Herb Larson has been pulled over, it wasn't because of his motorcycle or his clothing, he says -- it was because he was speeding. Larson, who has been riding for more than 32 years and now teaches motorcycle-safety classes on the weekends, says the law "sounds OK."

"But I would hope we wouldn't have to have anything like that," he said. "I don't think motorcyclists should be treated any different than anyone else."

Law enforcement officers, while perhaps not enthusiastically supporting the bill, seem to have dropped any opposition to it.

And Lovick says most of his law-enforcement peers won't have a problem with it.

"For those of us that know we're complying, it's not a problem," he said. "If you're not violating anyone's rights, there's nothing to fear."

The bill shouldn't cost anything to implement, its sponsors say. The training mandated by the bill could be as simple as adding an extra half-hour to routine officers' training, Lovick said. Officers already know they must have probable cause to conduct a traffic stop; the extra half-hour to focus on that subject would just serve as a reminder, he said.

Although the bill has an impressive slate of co-sponsors from both parties, Kirby isn't assuming it will pass. Two previous versions languished in committee, and his biggest obstacle still seems to be getting his colleagues to take the bill seriously.

"It could just get caught up in a logjam," he said. "But I think I have a shot at getting it out of committee this year. And that would be a victory."

P-I reporter Jessica Blanchard can be reached at 206-448-8322 or jessicablanchard@seattlepi.com