Rep. Stanek, who would have no personal liability if the state were sued, prefers to wait until the state faces a major lawsuit alleging racial profiling. It hasn't been a problem in Minnesota. Contrary to what Rep. Stanek and Commissioner Weaver believe to be true, a significant portion of the state's population does believe that racial profiling is a problem in this state. Ask any group of minority Minnesotans and I guarantee you, the majority will tell you that they believe they have been stopped by police at least once for no other reason than the color of their skin. The MCLU receives much anecdotal information about racial profiling that happens every day in this state.
Perception is reality.
That perception engenders public mistrust of police, which in turn renders law enforcement officers less effective in doing their jobs. A large-scale effort on the part of state and local law enforcement agencies to track the race of individuals stopped by police would go a long way toward ameliorating the perceived racism that many believe exists among the state's law enforcement officers. If Rep. Stanek and Commissioner Weaver are correct, and racial profiling is not a problem in Minnesota, the data will reinforce that fact and serve to increase public confidence in law enforcement officers. If, on the other hand, Driving While Black or Brown is a problem in the state, the data will help to identify the problem and address it before the state faces costly, protracted litigation. In fact, simply collecting data on race will reduce the number of racially motivated stops.