FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Friday, May 15, 2009
CONTACT: Peter Simonson, ACLU of New Mexico (505) 266-5915 x1002; or ACLU Volunteer Attorney, Mike Lilley (575) 524-7809
LAS CRUCES—The ACLU of New Mexico sued officers of the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division (MTD) for targeting vehicles driven by African Americans for inspections, searches and detentions at the MTD port of entry in Lordsburg, New Mexico. The lawsuit stems from an August 15, 2008 incident in which MTD officer Ben Strain stopped and cited truck driver Curtis Blackwell for the alleged violation of carrying alcohol in a commercial vehicle, even though the containers were unopened. After receiving contact from Blackwell, ACLU volunteer attorneys Michael Lilley and Michael Stout uncovered evidence that MTD officers in the Lordsburg division stopped and booked a disproportionately high number of African American truck drivers compared to the general population of truck drivers passing through the port of entry.
“For years we’ve suspected that race played an improper role in vehicle inspections at the Lordsburg station,” said Lilley. “Mr. Blackwell’s experience confirmed our suspicions and gave us reason to look into the matter in depth. What we discovered was a clear and consistent pattern of racial disparity favoring the booking of African American truck drivers.”
Data the attorneys obtained through Hidalgo County Detention Center records shows that, between April 2005 and March 2008, 20 percent of all bookings by MTD agents at the detention center were African American, while African Americans represented only 2 percent of bookings by other law enforcement agencies. Most of the MTD bookings were truck drivers.
Legal papers filed by the ACLU claim that “virtually every truck driver charged criminally in federal court who was arrested by an MTD officer stationed in Lordsburg is African American/Black.”
“Targeting motorists on the basis of race is a lose-lose proposition,” said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Not only does it breed resentment and mistrust towards police in the community, but it also fails as a method of police investigation. Studies of traffic stops and searches show that people of color are no more likely to be involved in criminal activity than whites.”
In addition to charges of discrimination, the ACLU lawsuit alleges that Officer Strain and the citation violated Blackwell’s due process rights by pressuring him to sign his guilt on the citation under threat of arrest and seizure of his vehicle. Blackwell agreed to pay the penalty and signed the citation.
Filed in federal court, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, expungement of the citation from Blackwell’s record, and a declaration that the citation is unconstitutional.
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The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship.
