An anti-racial profiling bill is on its way to being approved in Alabama.
The bill is introduced by Democratic Sen. Rodger Smitherman, and Senate Bill 192 would require the race, gender, and age of both the police officer and the person stopped by the officer to be recorded on a form. The form would also include the location of the stop and the reason for the stop.
From there, police and sheriff departments and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency would have to report those summaries annually to the state attorney general’s office, which would review the information and provide a report to the Legislature and the governor.
The bill was inspired by Smitherman and two other black members of the committee (Reps. Thomas Jackson, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives in Thomasville, and Mary Moore, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives in Birmingham), who shared their experiences on being stopped by police on multiple occasions because of the color of their skin.
The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee have approved Smitherman’s bill, and it has been sent to the House. It has already passed the Senate.
Smitherman’s bill was first introduced back in 2015.
