Siskiyou County reached a partial settlement in a 2021 class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian residents.
The sheriff's office agreed to a traffic stop policy that prohibits targeting certain races or using stops as a pretext to investigate other crimes.
“The fact that, for example, a person is Asian American or driving in an alleged high-crime area, or the mere fact that they have out-of-state license plates, cannot be used as a basis to essentially harass that driver,” said Emi Young, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.
Deputies regularly catch drivers transporting illegal cannabis grown in the county. The board of commissioners declared a local state of emergency last year over alleged widespread use of foreign-made pesticides at grow sites.
According to this agreement, the sheriff department can’t pull over a suspect for a traffic violation in the hopes of searching their vehicle for cannabis.
“The stop can't be used to ask unrelated investigative questions or to conduct a fishing expedition, which you know frankly was the experience of some of the plaintiffs in this case,” Young said. “We saw extremely extended detentions that… didn't result in anything more than a fix-it ticket or a warning.”
Deputies must also activate body-worn cameras during all traffic stops, tell suspects they have no legal consequences for refusing a search and offer translations if the person is not proficient in English.
The sheriff’s department said in a statement that the agreement is not a substantial change to its policies.
“The county and sheriff deny the factual and legal claims alleged by plaintiffs but believe the partial settlement was warranted in order to avoid further costs of litigation and the resulting drain on limited county resources,” the department said in a statement
The county will hire an external auditor for at least two years, for no more than $150,000 per year, who will review stop records and a randomized sample of body camera footage.
The county said it welcomed the monitor to demonstrate "their ongoing commitment to treating all people fairly and in accordance with the law.”
The county also agreed to remove property liens due to unpaid cannabis fines “unless state law is amended to authorize such action.”
The parties failed to reach an agreement regarding water access issues alleged in the complaint. The county has passed zoning ordinances to stop water delivery at illegal cannabis farms. The lawsuit claims these laws discriminate against Asian residents. That part of the complaint will move forward in court.
