WHERE:
ACLU of Northern California
1663 Mission Street, Suite 460 (between South Van Ness and Duboce)

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Alexander, Director of ACLU-NC Racial Justice Project Jon Streeter, Keker & Van Nest, LLP Lawsuit plaintiff

On Thursday, June 3, the ACLU of Northern California will announce a major lawsuit against a principal California law enforcement agency. The plaintiff charges that law enforcement officers violated his constitutional and statutory rights when he was pulled over and his car searched, solely because of his race. The suit charges that these incidents are indicative of a larger pattern of race-based traffic stops.

The civil rights action charges the law enforcement agency with racial discrimination and seeks to halt a pattern of racial profiling.

The lawsuit follows an ACLU national and statewide campaign to stop race-based police stops. In April, the ACLU of Northern California announced a billboard and radio ad campaign to publicize its "Driving While Black or Brown" hotline, 1-877-DWB-STOP. Since the hotlineís initiation in October, over 1600 persons have called to report their stories of discriminatory traffic stops.