DRUG TASK FORCES RAPPED FOR TRAFFIC STOPS

American Civil Liberties Union Issues Critical Report Based On Racial-profiling Data

AUSTIN -- Narcotics task forces in Texas have been using traffic stops as "fishing expeditions" to search motorists and passengers for illegal drugs, according to the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ).

Motorists stopped for traffic violations are searched by narcotics agents at rates much higher than during traffic stops conducted by non-task-force officers, the ACLU said.

The findings were gleaned from reviews of racial-profiling data and published in an ACLU report titled, "Flawed enforcement -- Why drug task force highway interdiction violates rights, wastes tax dollars, and fails to limit the availability of drugs in Texas."

The report, which was released May 19, criticizes highway interdiction policies utilized by task forces and suggests diverting federal funding to other criminal justice programs.

"We found patterns of unnecessary searches, a failure to perform basic law-enforcement functions, and a general lack of oversight and accountability," the ACLU said in the 20-page report.

The report was a critique of task forces in Texas and did not focus on any individual agencies.

Area law-enforcement officials -- including those who work for or with a local narcotics task force -- said intercepting illegal drugs and laundered money requires narcotics agents to conduct traffic stops at rates higher than other police agencies.

"Our job is to intercept narcotics, whether they're being sold, bought, or distributed in our jurisdiction, or passing through," said Lt.  Jesse Evins, assistant commander for the 81st Judicial District Narcotics Task Force.

The 81st task force conducts anti-drug police operations in Wilson, Atascosa, Karnes, Frio, and La Salle counties.

There are 45 narcotics task forces currently operating in Texas.  The multijurisdictional agencies are funded primarily by the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, which is a federal program named in honor of a New York undercover officer who was killed in the line of duty.

Byrne grant funds are dispersed among the task forces in Texas through the governor's Criminal Justice Division.

Rather than spending federal Byrne funds on narcotics task forces, the money could be spent on improving the quality of forensic science services, investigating money-laundering crimes, and cracking down on drug activity in public housing, the ACLU said.

Cash and valuables seized by task forces during drug raids often provide additional funds to the law-enforcement agencies, which convert the property into revenue at auctions.

The ACLU has argued for years that multijurisdictional task forces are inherently flawed because their budgets rely on assets seized during drug raids.  Since forfeited cash and property confiscated from criminal offenders help keep drug task forces operating, critics say that puts pressure on those agencies to pursue aggressive police tactics.

The ACLU's review of traffic stops conducted by 25 task forces indicated those agencies were "substantially more likely" to search minorities who drive on Texas highways and roads.

Data that was available indicated some task forces conducted searches on between 15 percent to 36 percent of drivers stopped for traffic violations.

By comparison, searches were conducted in 6.6 percent of all traffic stops nationwide in 1999, according to the U.S.  Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

While search rates by narcotics task forces in Texas appear to outpace those elsewhere, the traffic stops that serve as a pretext for the searches rarely result in a narcotics agent writing a ticket.

"Task forces let nearly everyone off with a warning who isn't caught with drugs," the report said, and added that some task forces let drivers off with a warning more than 95 percent of the time.

"Why would you be doing thousands of traffic stops and performing consent searches on up to one-third of the people who are stopped, and you're not writing tickets for the alleged traffic violations that initiated the stops in the first place?" ACLU spokesman Scott Henson said.  " It's inefficient and a poor way to manage resources."

High search rates among task forces were the tip of the iceberg when scrutinizing data on traffic stops, ACLU officials said.

"We did find some very weird irregularities as far as traffic interdiction goes," Henson said.

Area law-enforcement officials rebutted the findings of the ACLU report, saying racial-profiling data indicated no problems within their agencies, which contribute personnel to the 81st task force.

One area official said it was a "no-brainer" to conclude that narcotics task forces would have higher than usual rates for traffic stops and searches.

"Our agents conducting highway interdiction is similar to patrolmen assigned to DWI enforcement.  Those guys are going to do what they're geared to do," Evins said.

As for racial profiling, local authorities pointed out that both the Floresville Police Department and Wilson County Sheriff's Department already submitted their racial profiling reports to town and county officials.  Those reports, which include data on police officers and deputies assigned to the 81st task force, gave no indications of racial profiling by any officers, including those working as narcotics agents.

"The reports indicated our officers are stopping people at appropriate rates, when compared with Census data for this area," Floresville police Chief Dan Martinez said.

Authorities charged with overseeing law-enforcement agencies in the area said racial-profiling data is used internally to identify officers who are doing their jobs.

"It shows who's doing good police work," Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr.  said.

On-the-job procedures used by task-force agents in the interest of self-examination include reviews of paperwork filed in conjunction with arrests, reviewing videotapes of traffic stops, and conducting informal discussions regarding case law that affects police work, Evins said.

Those tools, along with a stringent screening process for evaluating job candidates, are part of the task force's philosophy of how to maintain a professional, effective police force.

"When we hire people, we want to hire the absolute best we can find," Evins said.  "We have standards to avoid hiring any personnel that have baggage.  We don't want problems."

Whether any of the 45 regional narcotics task forces in Texas are guilty of racial profiling -- stopping and searching motorists based on race -- is a question not answered in the report.

"It's impossible to know whether task forces are engaging in racial profiling because the agency exercising 'command and control' over them, i.e., DPS, doesn't monitor their racial profiling data," according to the ACLU report.

Even if data were being monitored, it would be unlikely that occurrences of racial profiling would leap off the pages, some law-enforcement officials said.

"The ACLU article appears to blame the Texas DPS for the ACLU's inability to prove racial profiling," Evins said.  "We [the task force] collect the raw data, review the data, videotape all our traffic stops, review the tapes, pursue allegations of officer misconduct, and we submit the collected data to our [Floresville] city council and Task Force Advisory Board.  There are enough wheels in the machine that if something is wrong, the task force, Floresville City Council, the Task Force Advisory Board, and consequently, DPS Narcotics administrators, will be involved in fixing the problem."

Lawmakers at the state and federal levels voiced concerns with federally funded narcotics task forces in Texas.  Some said they had concerns regarding task forces prior to the ACLU's recent report on traffic stops and searches.

"If that's true, then that's a problem," said state Sen.  Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, referring to the ACLU paper that reported discrepancies in traffic-stop rates.

"Task forces should not be allowed to roll their racial-profiling reports into the agencies they draw personnel from," Zaffirini said.  Instead, she proposed a more stringent reporting standard.

"I think task forces should be required to submit racial-profiling reports in the same manner as everyone else," Zaffirini said, "and they should send reports to their 'home agencies,' so to speak, as well."

"If there's no problem [with racial profiling] we can prove it," Zaffirini continued.  "Either way, we need the data."

Another suggestion was made to make task forces more self-reliant by paring down or eliminating the federal funding stream that currently keeps them running.

"Instead of directing Byrne funds toward other programs that are eligible, you're spending it on a task force because agents want new SUVs for their department," said Jeff Deist, a spokesman for U.S.  Rep.  Ron Paul, R-Clute.

Rewarding task forces with funds generated from drug seizures compounds the problem, Deist said.

"You dangle the carrot of federal dollars in front of them, and it's just become a great jobs program.  The fundamental problem is that we've just accepted this 'drug war,' and it's costing an incredible amount of money."