Blagojevich, Police Searches and My Experience

It comes with no surprise that the ACLU on Thursday asked for Ill. Gov. Rod Blagovevich's assistance in stopping unnecessary state police searches at traffic stops. Based on my own recent experience with a traffic stop in Evanston, it seems the spate of police asking minorities to allow searches is on the rise all over Illinois, in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs.

To me, it's nothing more than racial profiling.

This happens more frequently during the summer. Crime is up because the weather is hot, but the traffic stops and searches seem almost always unnecessary. The ACLU's admonition of Blagojevich would be a good start toward stopping this. Indeed, the Bush Administration claims it wants to put an end to racial profiling, too.

Here's my story. While the ACLU is focusing on state police and we were stopped on a city street, the situations are similar.

It happened in May, around 6 p.m. on a weekday on Custer Avenue near my home. I was with my cousin, who is black and Latino, when police officers pulled him over and conducted a search. I don't know what they thought they would find, but in the search, they tore up his car and dashboard -- and broke it. The officers thought he had something illegal in his car.

During the search, we were told to get out of the car and sit on the sidewalk. When they didn't find anything, they let us go, said something like, "Next time put your seat belt on." My cousin had taken his off after they pulled him over.

The reason they gave for pulling us over was not a good one. The officers said my cousin had stopped too long in the street. All he did was slow down a little -- with no one behind him. I believe they saw my cousin, saw that he was a minority, decided to pull him over and strip-search the car for no good reason. They followed us for just long enough to check out the plates and then pull us over.

Everyone is not a criminal because he or she is a minority. I see this all the time all in my neighborhood, in Evanston and Chicago.

The ACLU stepping in and asking for Blagojevich's aid to stop state police officers from unecessary searches is a good thing. This has to stop.