11 Latina women file lawsuit claiming racial discrimination

Eleven Latina women have filed a federal lawsuit claiming they were targets of racial discrimination and illegal search and seizure during a state investigation of day care providers. The group sued the state Department of Social and Health Services, Grant County, the Town of Mattawa and various state, county and town officials June 11 in U.S. District Court in Spokane.The women contend family pictures, passports, personal bills and divorce papers were taken without a search warrant and without probable cause by state investigators and, in one case, by an unidentified Grant County sheriff's deputy. [more]