PORTLAND, Maine - For the second consecutive year, a Maine lawmaker has proposed legislation designed to combat racial profiling, by requiring all law enforcement agencies to document demographic data of the people they stop. The Portland Press Herald reports that Rep. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, called on the state to address issues of racial injustice and profiling in his testimony on Tuesday.
Some law enforcement representatives opposed Hickman's original bill, claiming that it was unnecessary since bias-based stops don't happen in Maine.
Researchers have found disparities in the legal outcomes for non-white Mainers.
