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A state police trooper has been placed on adminstrative leave after he ran over and killed a 17-year-old boy during an automobile pursuit. The boy's family said he was a victim of racial profiling. Trooper Sean P. Taylor was pursuing Rashaad Randle early Friday when Randle jumped out of his car. Taylor swerved to avoid hitting the car and hit Randle, killing him, police said. Taylor was patrolling Pine Street near Maple Street in York when he saw a Nissan Stanza driven by Randle commit a traffic violation, state police said. Randle, who only had a learner's permit, did not stop for the trooper and a police pursuit began. Randle ran stop signs, drove on the wrong side of the road, and was speeding and driving recklessly during the chase. Randle's family, however, said he was the victim of racial profiling. "The only violation I can see is that he was black and he was out at 3:30 in the morning," said Darlene Barnes, Randle's mother. The state police have launched an investigation into Taylor's actions, said Trooper Kristal Turner-Childs, a state police spokeswoman, adding that state police do not engage in racial profiling. [more

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