STATE PATROL UNDER PRESSURE TO EXAMINE BIAS IN SEARCHES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR
After analyzing data from millions of traffic stops conducted by the State Patrol, InvestigateWest last month revealed that black, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islander drivers were searched at a higher rate than white motorists — even though troopers found drugs or other contraband at a higher rate when they searched white motorists or their cars.
Native Americans were searched at a rate five times higher than white motorists. About one-third of those searches of Native Americans were clustered at the edges of the Colville and Yakama reservations in Eastern Washington.