By KEITH PARADISE Staff writer / http://www.publicopiniononline.com
CHAMBERSBURG — Pennsylvania State Police officials met with leaders in the Hispanic community Monday morning to explain their procedure involving traffic stops, the second meeting of an effort to cross the communication bridge with the local Hispanic population.Lt. Col. John Brown, deputy commissioner of administration and professional accountability, gave a presentation at the First Lutheran Church to clarify questions that were raised at a community meeting conducted during the summer by the state police. Also in attendance from the state police were troopers Ed Asbury and Angel Garcia of the Chambersburg station.
“It’s important for us to build a relationship with the Hispanic community so they understand why we do what we do,” Brown said. “We want to be as transparent as we can and let people know that we’re not hiding anything.”
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He said state police have the right to detain the occupants of the vehicle, either at the scene or at the police station. Brown said state police do not have an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but said they may be contacted, depending on the suspected activity.
Brown also told the group that certain driver’s licenses, such as Mexico’s, are not valid in Pennsylvania and that there have been issues with counterfeiters making and selling international driver’s licenses.
Brown and the group also discussed methods to notify the Hispanic community that purchasing the fake driver’s license is illegal.
Brown said the state police have been having independent annual studies performed on traffic stops throughout the state to look for any irregularities and that Franklin County has not shown any issues in terms of racial profiling.
“We want our troopers to understand that bias-based policing is not appropriate,” Brown said.
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Keith Paradise can be reached at kparadise@publicopinionnews.com or 262-4811.
