Posted on 09/25/2003 4:32:25 AM PDT by Wolfie
HEGE PROBE MAY SPUR CASE DISMISSALS
LEXINGTON -- Davidson County sheriff's deputies say they were directed to stop drivers based solely on their race and ethnicity -- a revelation that could lead to some criminal cases being dismissed in court.
Deputies were instructed by Sheriff Gerald Hege to stop anyone "darker than snow," and "every Mexican or black guy," according to sworn affidavits from a half-dozen deputies.
Those affidavits were unsealed last week in court after Hege was charged with embezzlement and obstruction of justice. He has been suspended from his duties.
So far, at least one defense attorney is asking the courts to drop a criminal charge against her client because of allegations that the Davidson County sheriff's department engaged in "racial profiling."
"Every stop becomes suspect," said Mocksville-based attorney Lori Hamilton-DeWitt, who filed the motion to dismiss a charge against a Hispanic client Monday. She is reviewing all her files to see if any other cases could be affected.
State law says officers must have a reason for stopping a driver. Stopping people solely based on their race or skin color, not on their behavior or driving, meets the criteria of racial profiling, said Sgt. Everett Clendenin, a Highway Patrol spokesman.
Though not specifically outlawed by state law, racial profiling is prohibited under the federal Civil Rights Act. Plaintiffs are able to sue under the act and recover monetary damages. Federal authorities also can charge a law enforcement officer with a felony for violating the act, though no such charges have been filed.
The affidavits, which also contain other allegations that Hege's administration abused its power, will be considered during a hearing Oct. 27 to determine whether Hege should be removed from office.
On Monday, Hege returned to Superior Court for his initial appearance on the 15 criminal charges filed against him. He made no statements in regard to the charges. Hege posted a $15,000 secured bond last week and was ordered to have no contact with potential state witnesses.
In sworn affidavits to the State Bureau of Investigation, Hege's employees described scenarios where Hispanics, in particular, were targeted on busy thoroughfares through Davidson County.
Capt. Christopher Coble recalled Hege riding with him on Interstate 85 when they came across a Hispanic man driving a small Honda.
"Hege instructed me to stop the car," Coble told the SBI. "I followed the Hispanic male and observed his driving. I told Sheriff Hege that I did not see the driver do anything wrong and Sheriff Hege told me to pull the car because he saw the car weave in its lane. I stopped the car even though I did not see the driver do anything wrong."
Coble later determined the man didn't have a driver's license.
Deputy Todd Nifong told the SBI that he believed that members of the department's TAC unit were stopping and targeting "anything transporting Hispanic drivers with out-of-state license plates," according to his affidavit. The TAC unit is responsible for stopping drug traffickers on the major highways. Nifong added, "Sheriff Hege has come to me in the past and told me to write tickets to whites, blacks and Hispanics to offset the profiling that he had the TAC Team doing."
Capt. Jody Shoaf, a Davidson sheriff's spokesman, said he's talked to members of the TAC Team and none said they engaged in racial profiling while making traffic stops. Though they might have been encouraged to stop those of specific races, "I've had no indication the officers did that," he said Monday.
Davidson District Attorney Garry Frank said his office is not doing a wholesale review of cases involving traffic stops to see if any should be dismissed in light of the affidavits. Instead, they will deal with claims and motions for dismissal as they come up.
"We'll just have to weed through them and deal with them straight up," Frank said.
In the case that Hamilton-DeWitt wants dropped, her client, Fermil A. Vargas, was the passenger in a car driven by another Hispanic man. They were stopped on Interstate 85 in March.
Though the driver wasn't issued a traffic citation, the officer asked to search the car and eventually found cocaine hidden inside, she said. But Hamilton-DeWitt questions why they were stopped at all. The officer, she said, claimed it was because the driver was unable to maintain his lane. She doesn't buy that reasoning after learning of the information in the affidavits. She instead believes the car was stopped because two Hispanic men were inside.
"It just appeared to be obviously made up," she said.
Nice work, tough guy. I'm generally against prison rape, but Hege seems especially deserving.
The really smart way is to waste 99% of your time, budget, and manpower checking people you know have nothing to hide, thereby covering your a$$ at taxpayer expen$e.
Then people like MrLeRoy and Wolfie can bitch and moan about the amount of money we're spending on the WOD. Hey, MrLeRoy, how about prison rape for spending too much money?
White people never have drugs?
Well, there ya go. Anybody "darker than snow" has something to hide. Telling.
Keep reading the War On (Some) Drugs threads here---you'll see more.
Oooh. That sounds a little racist there, Wolfie. I certainly didn't say that. Telling.
I bet you can give hints to Ashcroft, couldn't you comrade? Or would that be Herr MrLeRoy?
It's from the article.
You and Wolfie either have a reading problem or an agenda. Which is it, Mr. I-am-a-sheep-and-regurgitate-PC-because-I-am-incapable-of-reason?
Pretty low, even for Wolfie.
The really smart way is to waste 99% of your time, budget, and manpower checking people you know have nothing to hide
White people never have drugs?
Now, did I say that white people never have drugs? No, I didn't.
Sounded that way to me. What DID you mean to say?
So you agree that Ashcroft is in the Soviet/Nazi mold? That's encouraging.
What omitted context shows that your "people you know have nothing to hide" does not refer to not-darker-than-snow people?
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