CHP disputes racial profiling of Latino drivers in Fresno County

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The ACLU believes Latino drivers in Fresno County have been picked on by the highway patrol. Attorney Julia Harumi Mass says a new study reveals there are thousands of examples.

Mass explained, "Where people were given citations and had their cars impounded for driving without a license where there wasn't a reason prior to the stop that was indicated on the ticket."

The ACLU and the American Friends Service Committee first aired their concerns at a news conference in Caruthers in 2012 and came back on Thursday to present their findings. They claim from 80 to 90 percent of the more than 4,000 drivers cited for not having a license are Latino. Half of the vehicles stopped were impounded. 85% of those were driven by a Latino. But Jim Abrames the Chief of the CHP's Central Division disputes accusations of racial profiling.

"What that data simply shows is that out of the thousands and thousands of traffic stops we make, of those that are unlicensed a small group 4 out of 5 times it's likely to be Latino surnamed," said Abrames. "It doesn't tell you who are we stopping."

Abrames says Latinos make up more than half the county's population but are less than half of the CHP's traffic stops, and says those who drive without a license pose a danger.

"People are dying out here," explained Abrames. "Since the first press conference to now in the Caruthers community we've had two more fatal collisions caused by unlicensed drivers, ten injury collisions caused by unlicensed drivers. 4 times the national average. "

The ACLU was especially disturbed by their findings that 69 percent of those traffic stops and impounds were done by just two of the Central divisions 58 officers.

Mass explained added, "One officer impounded more than 300 cars from Latino drivers without licenses and only 8 non-Latino drivers over the course of a year."

The other officer impounded 168 Latino vehicles, and 28 from other ethnic groups.

While the CHP says they've yet to find any evidence of wrongdoing the ACLU and local residents say the number of impounds is way down. That's confirmed by the impound lot, they say, they've lost a lot of business.