Weathersbee, black group meet on statue vandalism

Dropped charges at issue

accused man fears for safety

Anne Arundel

Shanahan said sergeants are asked to periodically check the ticket books of their officers to make sure the number of citations being issued to minorities is not disproportionate to the population demographics. The county also provides sensitivity and diversity training for officers and is recruiting minorities for open positions on the force, the chief said.

"If there are problems, I need to know about them," Shanahan said.

He asked audience members with specific examples of what they believed may be racial profiling, such as illegal car searches or stopping African-American teen-agers standing outside schools, to call the department's internal affairs office at 410-222-8730.

Also at the meeting, coalition members voted to endorse an Annapolis city council measure introduced last month by Aldermen Cynthia A. Carter and Samuel Gilmer that would repeal the city's unique voter identification requirement for city elections. The measure is expected to be discussed at a council hearing Feb. 26.

The regulation, passed in 1998 after the last city election, requires voters to present identification or sign an affidavit before casting a ballot. Carter and others have said the requirement could have a negative impact on minority voters.