"Lawsuit Challenges Profiling at U.S. Airports"

Monday, December 3, 2007

Lawsuit Challenges Profiling at Airports
BY DENISE LAVOIE 
The Associated Press


BOSTON - The top official in charge of fighting racial profiling for the
American Civil Liberties Union says he was the victim of profiling at the
Boston airport, and he has gone to federal court to challenge a screening
technique that relies on suspicious behavior to identify potential
terrorists.

King Downing said he was stopped and questioned by state police in October
2003 after arriving on a flight to attend a meeting on racial profiling.

Downing sued the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport,
and Massachusetts State Police, alleging they violated his constitutional
right against unreasonable search. A trial in the case began Monday in U.S.
District Court.

Downing, who is black and wears a short beard, said in his lawsuit that he
was stopped by a state trooper and asked to show identification after he
left the gate area and made a phone call in the terminal.

When he declined, Downing said, he was told to leave the airport, but was
then stopped again. He was surrounded by four state troopers and told that
he was under arrest for failing to produce identification.

Downing, an attorney who serves as national coordinator of the ACLU's
Campaign Against Racial Profiling, said after he agreed to show his driver's
license, the troopers asked to see his airline ticket. He was then allowed
to leave, and no charges were filed against him.

In his lawsuit, Downing alleges the behavioral screening system used at
Logan International Airport encourages racial profiling. His lawsuit seeks
unspecified damage and a ruling to declare the screening system
unconstitutional.

Downing was stopped "for no apparent reasons other than his appearance,"
said Peter Krupp, one of his attorneys. "He knew his rights, and he knew he
had done nothing wrong."

In 2002, about a year after terrorists launched the Sept. 11 attacks by
hijacking two planes from Logan, the airport began a program called
"Behavior Assessment Screening System," which allows police to question
passengers whose behavior appears suspicious. Logan was the first airport in
the country to use the system.

The Transportation Security Administration has rolled out a similar system
at more than 40 of the nation's largest airports. The TSA would not reveal
what kinds of behavior authorities look for, but officials at Logan have
previously said suspicious activity includes loitering without luggage,
wearing heavy clothes on a hot day and watching security methods at the
airport.

Logan officials say race played no role in the decision to question Downing.
The first trooper to ask Downing for identification was black, and three of
the four officers who arrived later were also black, according to court
documents. The first trooper said he became suspicious when he saw Downing
watching him.

Airport officials insisted behavior-pattern recognition helps strengthen
security and does not involve racial profiling.

"We welcome the opportunity to defend the program in court," said Matthew
Brelis, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the
airport.

Critics say the behavioral-recognition technique carries an inherent risk of
racial profiling.

"Done right, it is based on behavior. Done wrong, it is based on physical
characteristics, superficial characteristics," said Bruce Schneier, chief
technology officer at the security firm BT Counterpane. "Unfortunately, it's
easy to do it wrong."

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