RALEIGH, N.C. — A historically Black university in North Carolina says it has filed a complaint with the Department of Justice seeking a review of a search of a bus carrying students during a traffic stop in South Carolina last month.
Shaw University President Paulette Dillard has accused law enforcement officers of racially profiling students traveling to a conference in Atlanta. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright called the accusations false, saying officers stopped the bus because it was swerving.
Dillard says the issue is how the alleged minor violation turned into a drug search.
"The bus driver received a warning citation and nothing illegal or inappropriate was found, Dillard said during a press conference. "But that's not the real issue. The real issue is why and how a minor traffic violation immediately turned into a drug search. It begs the question of whether every vehicle that is stopped for a lane violation is also searched for drugs by dogs. And if not, what is the probable cause that makes that determination? Who gets searched and why? We need to ask the question. Why the officer on board the bus immediately asked the students if they were transporting some type of illegal or illicit content within their bags, something that, quote, wasn't supposed to be there?"
The complaint states that a lane violation would be insufficient justification for a search and that students’ privacy was violated because they didn’t consent to a luggage search.
“There is real harm done when individual rights are overlooked, ignored or denied – and when it becomes commonplace to violate the civil liberties of innocent Americans traveling on an Interstate highway. The harmful effects of eroding individual rights under the pretext of law and order are real – and they are rampant all over the country," Dillard said.