A Ninth Circuit federal appeals court upheld a $20,000 judgment against the Santa Monica Police Department for violating the civil rights of two African-American men who were stopped and arrested because they "looked suspicious."  One man, a photo editor for Sports Illustrated magazine, and the other, a bank analyst, were both on vacation from New York and had just come from a game at Dodger Stadium.  According to court documents, the police felt the men "looked nervous" and then called for back-up.  They then followed the men's rental car to their hotel where they ordered the men out of the car at gunpoint.  By then, a police dog and 6 other officers were also present.  The men were handcuffed, patted down, placed in separate patrol cars, and later released.  The Ninth Circuit opinion said the men gave no indication of being armed, dangerous, or resisting arrest.  In the 3-0 ruling, the appeals court upheld the decision that the men were arrested without probable cause, and a jury's award of $10,00 in damages to each man.

The judge had harsh words for police racism and he described the case as an example of how police routinely violate the Constitutional rights of minorities, particularly Black men, by stopping them without just cause. Washington v. Lanbert, 96 S.O.S. 7855.  He also cited many similar incidents, including the remarks of Christopher Darden and Al Joyner.  Darnden, the O.J. Simpson prosecutor, wrote in his book, In Contempt, that he is stopped by police an average of five times a year.  Al Joyner, Olympic gold medalists, with whom the L.A. Police department settled a lawsuit for $245,000 last year, contended that police in Hollywood illegally stopped him twice within minutes.

1996 Robin D. Gross
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