Home : Police Practices

New ACLU Report Shows Rhode Island Police Are Backsliding on Efforts to End Racial Profiling (08/08/2005)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- According to a 15-page report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, the latest statistics on police department traffic stops in the state show an increase in searches of racial minorities even as white drivers are more likely to be found with contraband when searches are conducted. The statistics cover January through March 2005, the second quarter of a yearlong study mandated by state law.

NYCLU Sues New York City Over Subway Bag Search Policy (08/04/2005)
NEW YORK -- In response to the New York Police Department's unprecedented policy of subjecting millions of New Yorkers to suspicionless searches, the New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit to halt the practice.

ACLU of Massachusetts Issues Recommendations on Less Lethal Force Policies for Police (05/10/2005)
BOSTON -- Citing safety concerns following the death of Victoria Snelgrove and other fatal incidents arising from the introduction of new police weaponry around the country, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today issued a report setting forth specific recommendations for improved training, use, and monitoring of so-called ""less lethal"" weapons by the Boston Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth.

ACLU Sues New Mexico Sheriff's Deputies for Beating Two Young Men (05/04/2005)
SANTA FE, NM -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Chaves County Sheriff's deputies for brutalizing two young men at a private home in Roswell two years ago.

ACLU of Northern California Seeks Information About Undercover Surveillance of University Organizations (04/27/2005)
FRESNO, CA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and a Fresno State University student group today filed requests with the local sheriff's department and the FBI after university officials disclosed that several plainclothes police officers were present at a student-sponsored lecture last fall. The sheriff's department is currently under investigation following disclosures that it infiltrated an anti-war group in 2003.

ACLU of New Mexico Files for Motion Against Local Police in Ongoing Discrimination Case (04/20/2005)
SANTA FE, NM -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today asked federal court judge Martha Vasquez to declare Hobbs city officials in ""substantial non-compliance"" with a court-endorsed agreement requiring the police department to stop discriminating and to uphold the constitutional rights of African Americans. The motion also asks the court to initiate contempt proceedings for the city's failure to address a previous finding of non-compliance by Judge Vasquez under the terms of a 2001 settlement agreement.

ACLU Calls on Denver Officials to Deliver on Promised Police Reform (03/24/2005)
DENVER--The city administration is already failing to deliver on one of its promised reforms in how it deals with incidents in which police officers kill or seriously injure civilians, a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado said today.

ACLU of Massachusetts Applauds Boston Police Commissioner's Opposition to the CLEAR Act (02/14/2005)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today praised Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole for opposing the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, an act expected to be taken up again this term by Congress that would pressure local and state law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws.

Cincinnati Police Failed to Reform Discriminatory Practices, ACLU Charges (11/19/2004)
CINCINNATI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today asked a federal court to order city officials here to comply with agreements made in the ACLU's landmark 2001 police reform case, which charged the city with a pattern of racial profiling by police.

ACLU of Arkansas Calls on Justice Department to Investigate County Officer Over Harassment of African Americans (10/25/2004)
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas announced today that it has sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation into the harassment of African Americans by a county police officer in Brinkley, Arkansas.