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MONDAY, JULY 16, 2001

A group of Asian-American teens and their camp coordinators are accusing a Native American officer of targeting them because of their race.

The teens say Seattle, Washington, officer Jess Pitts stopped them last Monday and made a number of racially charged comments. Pitts is alleged to have questioned whether the youths could speak English and if they were American citizens.

The police department is defending Pitts and said he stopped the group because they were jaywalking and placing themselves in danger. Of the 14 students, only one was cited and given a $38 jaywalking ticket.

Get the Story:
Asian-American youth group complains about police treatment (The Seattle Times 7/14)
Police stop of Asian Americans is called case of race profiling (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7/14)