Zebulon police targeting Latino churchgoers

OFF THE WIRE
ACLU of NC did not act on our complaints. However, they are acting on this. I am glad they are. In the end, let us hope that any actions from this will reiterate that checkpoints cannot selectively target certain groups, and that will help end motorcyclist only checkpoints. jan


psst... For those not familiar with the location of Zebulon, it is just a few towns to the east of Raleigh.



ACLU-NC and Allies Challenge Zebulon Police Department's Practice of Targeting Latino Churchgoers

On April 29, 2010, the ACLU of North Carolina, together with the North Carolina Justice Center, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, launched an investigation into the practice of targeting Latino churchgoers by the Zebulon Police Department and the Wake County Sheriff's Office. These groups were contacted by congregants at the Iglesia de Dios "Catedral de Jesus" in Zebulon, who report that Zebulon police officers, with alleged participation by Wake County sheriff's deputies, have repeatedly posted license checkpoints outside the church during church services and other church-related activities.

Members of the congregation report that officers routinely select the entrance of the church at 717 S. Arendell Avenue, to set up license checkpoints during regularly scheduled church events, such as church services on Saturday nights, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Members of the congregation report being targeted by police, both in the designation of the checkpoint location itself, and also in terms of discriminatory treatment at these checkpoints. Specifically, members of the congregation report that police officers routinely "wave through" Caucasian and African-American drivers, stopping only those drivers who appear to be Latino. Additionally, members of the congregation report being harassed on church property by Zebulon police officers seeking to learn the identity of various congregants and even entering the sanctuary and interrupting church service. These scare tactics by police have caused a significant decrease in church attendance, as many congregants are afraid to attend church lest they be harassed by law enforcement in the process. A letter sent to Zebulon Police Chief Tim Hayworth and Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison outlines the illegality and unconstitutionality of these practices under both state and federal law.

"The reality is that these types of license checkpoints are often no more than covers for blatant racial and ethnic profiling of the Latino community, including those members of the community who are undocumented as well as those members who are American citizens and lawful permanent residents of North Carolina," said Katy Parker, Legal Director of the ACLU-NCLF. "We have been investigating similar license checkpoint schemes throughout North Carolina and are very concerned about the serious civil rights violations against the North Carolina Latino community that are occurring at these checkpoints."

The records request asks police to provide all documents related to checkpoints conducted by ZPD and WCSO in the past several years, as well as all documents related to compliance with the North Carolina Racial Profiling Act.
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