Texas Police "Consent" Searches smell like a rat

In an effort to protect Texans' right to "liberty without fear or harassment," State Representative Harold Dutton (D-Houston) and State Senator Juan Hinojosa (D-Mission) filed HB 2418 and SB 1195 last week. The bills would make it illegal for police officers to perform searches without probable cause or a search warrant. Police officers perform consent searches when they don't have legal justification for a search; officers must ask the detainee for permission to search his or her vehicle or person. Consensual searches provide a good indicator of racial profiling because they are performed at the officers' discretion. Last month, Steward Research Group released a racial profiling report, Don't Mind if I Take a Look, Do Ya?, which found that 2 out of 3 Texas law enforcement agencies reported searching blacks and Latinos at higher rates than whites after a traffic stop. According to the study, Bexar County Sheriff's Deputies are more likely to search black (2.9 times) or Latino (2.2 times) drivers than white. Yet, the study shows that the rate at which officers recover contraband during searches is "almost equal across racial groups." The report also raises the question of whether consent searches, which consistently yield a low contraband hit rate, are efficient. San Antonio Police Chief Albert Ortiz said that he doesn't support the bills. "The bill infringes on the right of the person to make their own consent decision as to whether their car can be searched or not," said Sandy Gutierrez, SAPD spokesperson. Although citizens can decline such a search, advocates say that many are unaware of that right or feel pressured to comply. State Representative Joaquin Castro said that he favors an amended version of HB 2418 that requires police to inform detainees that they can refuse consent searches. [more]