Black Drivers In St. Paul Stopped More Often than Whites

ST. PAUL (AP) - Fifteen years of traffic stop data show that St. Paul police officers routinely stop, search and ticket black drivers at higher rates than white motorists.

The police department released information Wednesday covering nearly 700,000 traffic stops dating to 2001. Much of the data, including many stops that occurred before 2005, is incomplete.

Twenty-nine percent of traffic stops over the last decade were of black drivers, who made up 13 percent or less of the city's driving-age population. White drivers accounted for 31 percent of stops and make up 58 percent of the driving-age population.

Police Chief Todd Axtell says he's uncertain why the disparities are occurring but doesn't believe city officers are racially profiling African-American drivers. He says he has plans for the department to collect more data in the future that may provide answers.