(MPRN-Lansing) The Michigan Supreme Court will decide whether police officers can photograph and fingerprint someone because they don’t have an ID.
At issue is a Grand Rapids Police Department policy. In these cases, police officers stopped, questioned, took pictures and thumbprints of African American teenagers. But no charges were filed.
Two separate lawsuits say the policy violates constitutional rights against unreasonable searches. The lawsuits also claim the policy amounts to racial profiling.
The policy was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals in May of last year. The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to that decision.