MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama state Senator Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham) wants to require police departments around the state to adopt a policy expressly prohibiting stopping or detaining someone because of their race, color, ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation.
While such discrimination is already illegal, Smitherman asserts it is still a problem in many areas and believes new legislation could help keep the unrest of Ferguson and Baltimore from coming to the Yellowhammer State.
“I think we need to not wait until those situations happen in this state before we react,” Smitherman said during a committee meeting.
His bill, SB192, was given a favorable report by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Smitherman said he hopes it will be debated by the full Senate this week.
Smitherman said he has been racially profiled in his own neighborhood and pulled over without being given a reason, then released once the officer ran his driver’s license.
The bill would require law enforcement offices to keep detailed records of the demographic information of the people they pull over, as well as if the stop resulted in a warning, citation, arrest, or detention, and report that information to the Alabama Attorney General’s office annually.
If a department or officer is found to be breaking the law it will constitute a civil rights violation.
“The prevailing thing about it is that all peoples’ lives matter,” Smitherman told AL.com. “It matters. if this [bill] prevents one person from being killed in a situation like [in Baltimore], if it prevents one situation where you don’t have the destroying of communities and public property and … places that provide jobs [then it’s worth it.]”
The bill has drawn the support of the ACLU, which applauded the committee’s approval.
“Racial profiling is a national epidemic as evidenced by recent events across this country,” said ACLU of Alabama Executive Director Susan Watson. “This legislation will help to root out discriminatory practices by documenting demographics of the motorists. If patterns are found, authorities will be able to take appropriate steps to correct the situation and apply disciplinary actions as deemed fit.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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