Follow up story: Washington will study racial bias in searches made by state patrol

In the wake of revelations that Washington State Patrol troopers search Native Americans and other people of color at far higher rates than whites, the state Legislature has agreed to appropriate $50,000 to investigate bias in police stops.

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The money for the bias study, requested by Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, a Goldendale Republican, funds a collaboration between state police and Washington State University to analyze traffic stop data kept by the patrol. That money will also be spent to survey Washington residents’ perceptions of the state patrol. The funding was included in the state budget passed by the Legislature on Thursday; it now awaits Gov. Jay Inslee’s approval.