NM Rep. Nathan Cote Intros Bill to Prevent Biased-Based Profiling

Rep. Nathan Cote (D-Las Cruces) introduced a bill yesterday that would prevent biased-based profiling, which includes racial profiling, by members of law enforcement. Rep. Cote introduced the legislation after receiving numerous complaints from his constituents who felt they had been pulled over or otherwise interviewed, interrogated, or detained by law enforcement based solely on their race or ethnicity. HB 428, the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act, has been endorsed by the NAACP and Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, as well as several other organizations around the state.

Rep. Cote said, “In such a diverse state as New Mexico, it is unthinkable that law enforcement would be allowed to pull over or question someone based solely on the color of their skin, their accent, their ethnicity, or their religion.” He added, “This bill would put a mechanism in place whereby our law enforcement would be properly trained to avoid profiling and then be held accountable for such biased-based acts by the Attorney General.”

House Bill 428 would make it illegal for law enforcement to rely on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, nationality, language, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, socioeconomic status or disability to select a person for routine or spontaneous investigatory activities. It would require law enforcement agencies to publish the policies and procedures designed to eliminate profiling. And it would also require the Attorney General to establish independent procedures for investigating complaints of biased-based profiling by law enforcement.

Twenty-three other states have already adopted biased-based profiling statutes.