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Police Records Sought

Naacp, Aclu Want Files On State Police Inquiries Into Racial Profiling

May 12, 2009|By Andrea F. Siegel , andrea.siegel@baltsun.com

The percentages of motorists stopped by troopers remains about the same as it was then, the ACLU contends. Minorities account for 70 percent of the stops; 45 percent of the drivers are black.

"There are some very strict guidelines that have been put in place. There is a very set process by which these complaints are investigated. It is a very thorough process," said Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office.

The agreement expired last year. But with none of the complaints by motorists upheld, the organizations sought the records of the police investigations into those complaints. A federal judge turned them down. Under the Maryland Public Information Act, they turned to Baltimore County, where Circuit Judge Timothy J. Martin ordered state police to turn over the investigation records with identifying information redacted.

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Police appealed. There is no deadline for the judges to rule.

In the short hearing, Chief Judge Peter B. Krauser asked if there was a way to redact the personnel records so that officers could not be identified but still provide the investigation details. Moore said no, later likening them to school and hospital records.

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