EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - A Lane County employee has filed a complaint with the state of Oregon claiming to have been racially profiled in Eugene last month by a Lane County sheriff’s deputy, and accusing the county of not having a legally required racial profiling complaint system.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports ( https://bit.ly/2kEmoRE ) that Linda Hamilton, a Lane County parole and probation officer, alleges that on Jan. 14 she was the target of a racial profiling traffic stop by a Lane County sheriff’s deputy.
At issue is whether the sheriff’s office has a specific process in place to handle profiling complaints such as Hamilton’s. While the county has a system for handling complaints, Hamilton says it’s deficient because it does not allow someone to separately report a racial profiling incident. And Hamilton alleges that the sheriff’s deputy and his supervisor attempted to cover up the traffic stop.
A sheriff’s office spokeswoman said the agency does not tolerate racial profiling, and a complaint about Hamilton’s stop is being reviewed.
The local chapter of the NAACP has hired a lobbyist to promote House Bill 2355, which would direct the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to develop a method for recording data concerning officer-initiated pedestrian and traffic stops. The bill would require cultural competency and bias training for all law enforcement officers, according to Eric Richardson, president of the local NAACP chapter.
“We are saddened to hear about Linda’s experience, but are encouraged that a system is in place to record these incidents,” Richardson said in a press release last week. “We will continue to work to improve these systems.”
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