Brian Gallini, a former law professor at the University of Arkansas who’s now dean of the Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore., has deconstructed the State Police traffic stop of his former student, Marion Humphrey.

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To my way of thinking it’s a complete takedown of the procedures used by Trooper Steven Payton after stopping Humphrey for the supposed violation of changing lanes too quickly. It led to his arrest and handcuffing, a search of a rental truck he was using to move from Fayetteville to Little Rock and, finally, for release with a “warning” on his supposed improper lane change.

Gallini concludes, as did former U.S. attorney, Conner Eldridge in taking up the case of Humphrey, a third-year law student who works for him as a law clerk:

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My take: The officer stopped Marion because he’s a young Black male who was driving a rented U-Haul on the interstate.

The State Police have had only terse responses to criticism of this traffic stop, excusing Payton by saying, well, Humphrey only got a warning. No apologies for holding a young man with a pristine record in handcuffs for unwarranted and unproductive searches.

Eldridge hopes to leverage the case into a review of State Police enforcement practices. It’s an endeavor that’s worthy at every level of law enforcement. Are Black motorists stopped more often than white motorists? Charged more often? Are drug dogs called in more often? How reliable are these dogs? (The “alert” in this case was groundless.) Studies on police engagement in other jurisdictions have revealed racial differences. It’s a reflection of embedded attitudes evident when police see peaceful protestors as threatening, particuarly when they are noisy young Black people.

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Please read the whole thread. It includes dashcam video obtained by blogger Russ Racop and explains step by step how the trooper exceeded authority, as expressed in court precedent. Consider whether a young white motorist would have been treated the same way.

Gallini’s conclusion:

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Summary: I find it disheartening & exhausting to learn about race-based policing fueled by a dramatic misunderstanding of basic criminal procedure principles. But I’m proud of Marion for his composure under the circumstances. For so many reasons, I condemn what happened here