The chief judge of U.S. District Court in Chicago has questioned whether the federal government in a drug case racially profiled African-Americans and Latinos—raising a sensitive issue that for years has arisen in various forms nationwide.
Judge Ruben Castillo wrote in his decision this week that since 2011, 19 African-Americans and seven Latinos have been charged in drug stings in the Chicago area, in which agents used an informant to talk suspects into robbing fake stash houses. Over the same period, no whites have been charged, he wrote, citing defense filings.
The decision, which was posted late Wednesday, has potential to reach beyond Chicago. Law enforcement in other metropolitan areas has been accused of racial profiling, and similar stings are done nationwide.
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