Iowa police covering up racial profiling.

A police department accused of racially profiling Latinos has reached a settlement with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. In exchange for agreeing to several policy changes, the identity of the police force is not being made public.

According to a news release issued Wednesday by the commission, the investigation stemmed from an informal complaint alleging an officer routinely made traffic stops based on the national origin of the registered owner or driver of a car.

According to the person who made the informal complaint, the officer's actions constituted a pattern of behavior that resulted in a disproportionately higher number of stops, citations, and arrests for Hispanics. The police department denied all allegations in the complaint.

The commission identifies the police department only as being located in a town with approximately 4,000 residents in an Iowa county with a high Latino population.

"The settlement reached by the parties ensures that there will be no racial profiling in this jurisdiction and the officers will receive training regarding racial profiling to help them avoid situations that cause the public to question their objectivity," said Beth Townsend, executive director of Iowa Civil Rights Commission.


Link: http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/04/14/iowa.racial.profiling/