Targeted Traffic Stops in Siskiyou County: A Growing Concern

The Experience of Mai Yang

Driving down a California highway one night last June, Mai Yang noticed unfamiliar lights trailing her vehicle. A former medical device factory worker and mother of three, Yang suspected it was the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department, as others in the Hmong community had reported frequent stops. This suspicion etched itself into her mind whenever she approached the lonely stop sign where U.S. Route 97 meets Highway A12.

Yang maintained her composure, fully stopping her Toyota Highlander before turning right. Still, red and blue lights flashed in her rearview mirror, and anxiety began to creep in. “What did I do wrong?” she pondered while the officer approached, flashlight in hand. He informed her that a complete stop was necessary at the sign. Yang refrained from arguing, replying, “Yes, sir.” The encounter lasted only minutes, with no license check or information exchange, an unusual interaction for Yang.

Repeated Encounters

Just a week later, Yang’s family trip to the grocery store ended with another stop at the same intersection, again by the same officer. This time, she found her son’s face illuminated by the officer’s flashlight, revealing a backseat filled with groceries and her mother. Less than a week later, Yang was stopped yet again—this time alone. When she offered her ID, the officer declined to take it.

Intriguingly, there were no records that corresponded with the times, dates, names, or locations of Yang’s reported stops. Even Siskiyou County’s database, which details law enforcement interactions, lacked documentation of these encounters.

Patterns of Racial Profiling

The situation is not an isolated case. Under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), police departments are mandated to report the perceived race of drivers in stop interactions. However, discrepancies abound. A 2022 study revealed significant underreporting of Hispanic drivers by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and a 2020 audit showed inaccurate data in nearly 40% of incidents recorded by the LA Police Department.

Cha Vang, a member of the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, lamented the lack of power to enforce reporting standards, calling it “a faulty system.” She expressed frustration that policymakers appear disinterested in implementing recommended changes.

Community Reactions

To Yang and many members of Siskiyou County’s substantial Hmong population, these traffic stops represent a persistent trend of racial profiling by law enforcement. At a community center in Mt. Shasta Vista, Yang recounted how her husband had also been pulled over at that notorious stop sign, as had her sister-in-law. “You never know what could happen,” she cautioned, highlighting a pervasive sense of fear within her community.

In interviews last summer, Asian residents spoke of similar experiences, describing a pattern of harassment and targeting by police. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Asian Law Caucus responded by filing a lawsuit against the county and sheriff’s department in 2022, now in settlement discussions.

Despite a court order mandating the reporting of all traffic stops, the sheriff’s department maintained that it had been compliant. Nevertheless, allegations in the ACLU’s complaint suggest that Asian drivers were stopped at rates significantly higher than their representation in the population.

Historical Context

The Hmong and other Asian Americans began migrating to Siskiyou County in the mid-2010s, many being veterans and refugees from the CIA’s “secret” war in Laos. Families invested in land, homes, and businesses such as grocery stores and farms. However, local regulations imposed strict prohibitions on cannabis cultivation, which the county had enacted while the cannabis industry was booming.

Although California legalized cannabis, counties retained the authority to restrict its cultivation. Siskiyou County opted for stringent enforcement against a predominantly Hmong and Chinese farming community, leading to increased police scrutiny and racial animus.

The Role of Law Enforcement

Internal communications among law enforcement revealed awareness of potential legal ramifications arising from their tactics, which primarily affected “Hmong and Chinese marijuana growers.” In 2021, Undersheriff James Randall urged deputies to push boundaries within legal frameworks, emphasizing aggressive enforcement against perceived drug trafficking activities.

As the ACLU lawsuit unfolded, many Hmong community members reported that stops persisted into late 2023. Some residents began switching to American-made vehicles, believing it might protect them from profiling.

Broader Implications

Research indicates that punitive approaches to regulating cannabis, such as those employed in Siskiyou County, fail to produce effective solutions and merely exacerbate racial tensions. Margiana Petersen-Rockney, a researcher at UC Berkeley, found that more lenient counties experienced smaller illicit farms, showing that education and cooperation yield better outcomes for communities and regulatory efforts.

The disparities in law enforcement practices have bred a deep-seated distrust in the Hmong community, compounding racial tensions in a predominantly white area. Community organizer April Lee articulated a hope for safer streets, free from fear of unwarranted stops.

By conveying the human stories intertwined with these statistics and events, we race against the clock to address the complexities of racial profiling, community relations, and law enforcement practices that continue to impact residents’ lives.