Police sued for racial bias

Johnson: The system is “destroying black America”

COURTS | Patrick Yeagle

A Springfield man is suing two city police officers in federal court for alleged racial profiling following a traffic stop in 2013.

Samuel Johnson, who is black, says two Springfield police officers pulled him over without cause in November 2013, arrested him without justification and illegally searched his car. He is asking for unspecified damages, although he says any money he is awarded will go back to the community.

The case highlights the poor relationship between Springfield’s black citizens and the police. Traffic stop data show black drivers are significantly more likely to be pulled over than white drivers, and Johnson believes his stop was predicated on his race rather than his driving. A representative from the Springfield Police Department was not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit.

In November 2013, Johnson was driving home from Bloomington when he was pulled over for improper turn signal use. Although Johnson had used his turn signal, the officers who pulled him over believed he had not used the signal for 100 feet before changing lanes. The traffic ticket was later thrown out of court because state law does not specify how far in advance drivers must signal a lane change.

During the stop, the officers who pulled Johnson over asked him to step out of his vehicle to sign his citation. The police report claims Johnson had been previously arrested several times for drugs, which Johnson denies. Johnson believed he had done nothing wrong and that he was being asked to step out of the vehicle so the officers could look for reasons to search his car. He refused to exit the vehicle and was arrested for resisting an officer. The officers searched the vehicle and found no contraband. Johnson’s arrest was quashed when the court threw out his traffic ticket in July.

Now, Johnson is suing the City of Springfield and the two officers involved in his stop, saying that the stop was unjustified because he had broken no laws. The lawsuit was filed Oct. 6 in the Seventh Circuit U.S.

District Court in Springfield, alleging that Johnson was pulled over because of his race, as a pretext to search the vehicle.

“This is an educational and informative lawsuit,” Johnson said. “I look at it as educating people about the systematic structure that has been destroying black America. It needs to be out there on the forefront so that we can handle it. The whole time, I was dealing with a structure that knew I was innocent. This is the same structure that’s saying it’s for the people. How can that be when you see clearcut evidence that I’m innocent, but you’re still pressing on as if I’m guilty?” Although a Springfield police representative was not immediately available for comment, deputy chief Dennis Arnold previously told Illinois Times that his officers do not stop drivers based on race. Instead, he said, the police concentrate enforcement efforts in areas with the most calls to police, which coincide with areas of the city that have high minority populations.

City spokesman Nathan Mihelich said the city has not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit.

“Based on the facts available, the city is confident that the officers acted in accordance with the law,” Mihelich said.

Johnson says although he is seeking damages for his legal fees, towing fee and other costs, the lawsuit is not about money for him.

“Whatever happens, I promise they’ll see this money go right back into the community,” Johnson said.

Attorney Louis Meyer with the Chicago law firm Meyer & Kiss is representing Johnson in the lawsuit. Meyer, who is white, says if he had been driving instead of Johnson that night in November 2013, he probably wouldn’t have been pulled over.

“I think they tried to make up an excuse (to pull him over), they followed him for awhile and didn’t see him do any traffic violation, so they basically made one up,” Meyer said. “What the officers did was clearly wrong, and I think they need to be held accountable, because if no one does anything, they’ll continue to do these bogus traffic stops.”