LITTLE ROCK — A federal racial-profiling trial ended Wednesday with the testimony of Alexander’s assistant police chief, who denied that he has ever singled out Hispanic motorists for traffic citations.
Tommy Leath, who was a patrolman in 2007 when six Hispanic men say he pulled them over in separate instances for contrived windshield obstruction violations, said he applies the law “equally across the board with everyone” and that a motorist’s race “doesn’t matter.”
“If you break the law, you get cited for it,” the bespectacled Leath said matter-of-factly from the witness stand in federal court in Little Rock.
He said he has even stopped his uncle - his mother’s brother - for driving left of the centerline and then failing a field sobriety test, resulting in the man being jailed on a driving-while-intoxicated charge.
Leath also once pulled over a vehicle with expired tags, only to be greeted at the driver’s window by a man displaying a badge identifying himself as a Texas state trooper. The badge didn’t faze Leath, who said he promptly wrote the violator a citation.
He curtly dismissed the notion that he seeks out Hispanic drivers to cite for windshield obstructions, noting that a charge of “obstructing view” not only is valid but is also one he considers important.
“It’s something you can’t see through, and it also takes your attention off the roadway,” said the assistant chief, who is accused of targeting Hispanic drivers when doling out citations for the misdemeanor violation from April 2007, immediately upon graduating from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy, until six Hispanic men filed their civil-rights lawsuit against him and the city on June 13, 2007.
For almost a year, Leath had been patrolling the city of about 600 that straddles the Pulaski-Saline County line on a part-time basis, waiting to be fully certified. He had previously been an officer in nearby Shannon Hills. He described himself as having a renewed sense of vigor upon leaving the academy and taking his place as a full-time, certified officer.
At the academy, Leath testified, he took classes on racial profiling and on making traffic stops backed by probable cause - which the plaintiffs say he lacked during their stops.
Leath testified that one of his instructors even held up a Christmas-tree-shaped air freshener - just like one he confiscated from one of the plaintiffs - as an example of a windshield obstruction that constitutes probable cause to stop motorists.
U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Eisele, who presided over a three-day, non-jury trial stemming from the civil rights lawsuit, told attorneys for both parties that he will review testimony and pleadings in the case and gather some additional information before issuing a written order. He didn’t say when he will rule, but told attorneys to submit written briefs and additional census data by Nov. 23.
“I do view this as a serious case,” Eisele said. “It might be of great importance to the police and the courts in the future.”
Eisele added, “I’d love to rule from the bench, but it’s too important a case and there are too many things to consider, such as depositions I haven’t yet read.”
Attorney Reggie Koch, a former Sherwood police officer of 14 years, originally filed the civil-rights lawsuit on behalf of more than 30 Hispanic motorists who had been stopped and cited by Leath in the two-month period in 2007.
At the time, Koch was representing people who appeared in Alexander City Court, and he said he was taken aback by the number of Hispanic defendants who filled the courtroom when the city’s Hispanic population is small - just 2.3 percent.
He said most of the plaintiffs who initially agreed to participate in the lawsuit gradually dropped out as the case dragged on for two years without going to trial. He acknowledged that some of his clients were deported, but said others were wary of American court procedures or had a sense of hopelessness and didn’t want to spend any more time and energy on the case.
The case had seven plaintiffs on Tuesday, but Koch dropped another one on Wednesday when the man failed to show up to testify.
Koch later told Eisele that his clients’ reluctance to pursue a lawsuit was rooted in their heritage and was a key reason they were easy victims for the struggling municipality where officers are encouraged to write tickets to generate revenue.
“They don’t want trouble. They usually just pay,” Koch said. He was referring to towing and storage fees ranging from $306 to over $400 that his Hispanic clients often had to cough up after Leath had their vehicles towed away if a traffic stop revealed another infraction such as lack of a proper driver’s license or insurance papers.
Koch told Eisele that many Hispanic people in America are “not familiar with the police and courts. They often come from countries where police are corrupt. ... It’s hard to get them to come to court.”
In small towns like Alexander, where budgets are tight, “A good officer is one who will work 60 to 70 hours a week for a 40-hour paycheck, and write a lot of fee-generating citations,” Koch said, saying that Leath fit that description and, as such, wasn’t questioned by the mayor or the police chief, Allen Spears.
“When these groups come together, there’s a lot of potential for abuse,” Koch said.
Koch subpoenaed a former Alexander officer, Cain Maxheimer, who reluctantly testified on Wednesday after being tracked down and served a day earlier by U.S. marshals. Maxheimer acknowledged giving a deposition on Jan. 16, 2008, in which he said he often worked alongside Leath from January through August of 2007, and noticed that “he would intentionally target Hispanics for traffic stops.”
Maxheimer’s statement continued, “He would usually stop Hispanics for having some item hanging from their rearview mirror, alleging that it was obstructing their view. He stated to me that he had learned that many Hispanics did not have valid driver’s licenses, and he was therefore able to tow their vehicles and write them expensive citations.”
Maxheimer also said in the deposition that “Tommy told me that he had come up with a new game at work called ‘Tow My Ride,’ where the objective was to see how many vehicles he could tow every shift. ... Tommy stated that if anyone ever accused him of being racist he would have his young daughter come testify for him; Tommy asserted that his daughter is half Mexican.”
Maria Jones of Mabelvale, who was married to Leath for more than two years, testified that her father was Mexican and that she and Leath had two children.
She testified further that she has never heard him say anything negative about Hispanics.
The judge also heard from Jennifer Newkirk, the Alexander court clerk, who is engaged to Leath but in 2007 was married to Joshua Hubbard, who regularly rode with Leath and testified against him on Monday, relating remarks similar to those of Maxheimer.
Newkirk testified that she first heard about the “game” from Hubbard, who told her that “he had come up with a new TV program and that was going to be the title.”
Mayor Shirley Johnson testified Wednesday that she dismissed complaints from two people, including Koch, that her officers were racially profiling people, because, “I wouldn’t think a police officer would stop someone if they hadn’t done something, if the officer didn’t have probable cause.”
Defense attorney Geoffrey Thompson of North Little Rock contends that Leath had probable cause for each arrest, making each one constitutional.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 10/29/2009