Wis. Senate passes repeal of racial profiling law

By: Associated Press//February 23, 2011//

By: Associated Press//February 23, 2011//

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Racine County Sheriff's Deputy Ed Drewitz tickets a motorist stopped for speeding on I-94 near Racine recently. Drewitz' laser speed measuring device clocked the motorist at 80 mph. Drewitz said he cannot tell the driver's gender or racial characteristics or the car's license plate as he clocks speeders, sometimes at a distance of 1,600 feet. The Wisconsin state Senate has passed a repeal of a law that requires law enforcement agencies to collect data about the race of drivers they pull over in traffic stops. The vote to pass the bill Wednesday came with no Democrats present. (AP Photo/The Journal Times, Mark Hertzberg) — Racine County Sheriff's Deputy Ed Drewitz tickets a motorist stopped for speeding on I-94 near Racine recently. Drewitz said he cannot tell the driver's gender or racial characteristics or the car's license plate as he clocks speeders, sometimes at a distance of 1,600 feet. The Wisconsin state Senate has passed a repeal of a law that requires law enforcement agencies to collect data about the race of drivers they pull over in traffic stops. The vote to pass the bill Wednesday came with no Democrats present. (AP Photo/The Journal Times, Mark Hertzberg)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin state Senate has passed a repeal of a law that requires law enforcement agencies to collect data about the race of drivers they pull over in traffic stops.

The vote to pass the bill Wednesday came with no Democrats present. They left the state last Thursday rather than have to vote on a different bill pushed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker that would take away collective bargaining rights for public workers.

The racial profiling law took effect in January. It requires police to collect the age, zip code, gender and ethnicity of stopped drivers and their passengers to determine if racial profiling is occurring.

Some police argued for repeal saying the law is time consuming and duplicative of other reports they must fill out.

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