Woman claims UHP racially profiled her


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A federal lawsuit has been filed against the Utah Highway Patrol by a woman claiming racial profiling. Nov. 20, 2008, was supposed to be the start of a fun weekend for 54-year-old Sherida Felders of San Diego. She was on her way to visit her grandson in Fort Collins, Colo. Two of her grandson's friends were also in her vehicle for the trip.

Woman claims UHP racially profiled her

They were all planning on meeting at her grandson's home, then driving to Laramie, Wyo., for the Colorado State-Wyoming football game.

Before all that, though, they were pulled over in Cedar City, Utah.

Felders admits she was speeding, doing 84 miles per hour on I-15.

Woman claims UHP racially profiled her

Utah Highway Patrol trooper Brian Bairett pulled her over, asked for her license and registration, and then wrote a ticket.

When he gave it to Felders, though, he asked her to get out of her car. Felders says she thought he was just going to have her sign it but was surprised when he asked her something else. "He just asked me out of the blue did I have any methamphetamine, cocaine, or crack in my vehicle," says Felders, "And I said what?"

Felders claims trooper Bairett then asked if he could search her car, to which she replied no.

Trooper Bairett then had Felders wait outside while he called for a drug-sniffing dog.

"I was crying. I was scared. I was cold because I have some physical injuries which I can't stand for a prolonged length of time," says Felders.

"When I saw Ms. Sherida shaking and crying after he said he was going to search the car, I was scared," says Delarryon Hansend, the 18-year-old friend of her grandson who was in the car with her. "I just thought it wasn't right to have her out in the cold."

When the dog arrived, Felders said it sniffed inside and outside the car and went through it three times. It didn't find anything.

Woman claims UHP racially profiled her

Then, Felders claims trooper Bairett went into his patrol car, got a screwdriver and then started unscrewing several compartments in her car looking for hidden drugs.

"I feel like he had no right because he had no probable cause," says Felders.

Her attorney, Salt Lake City based Robert Sykes, agrees. He says, "Look, if we didn't have the Constitution, life would be a lot simpler for cops. They could arrest and search anybody they wanted like they do in foreign countries."

Trooper Bairett didn't find any drugs, and according to Felders, didn't crew back all the compartments he took apart.

"They didn't find anything. They tore my car up and didn't find anything," says Felders.

She has now filed a lawsuit against trooper Bairett and the Utah Highway Patrol, claiming they were racially profiled during that traffic stop.

"Yes, I do feel that way," says 17-year-old Elijah Madyun, who was also in the car. "We're black. We're on the freeway in a nice car that has California license plates. We fit the description of a drug dealer."

The I-15 corridor through Cedar City is known as "drug alley" within the Utah Highway Patrol. Troopers routinely find drugs hidden in cars.

However, UHP spokesman Sgt. Jeff Nigbur says this case was not racially motivated. He says, "I can't go into all the details because of the pending lawsuit, but there were some red flags that gave this officer reasonable suspicion. He built on that and took it in the direction he took it."

Nigbur says the trooper would've acted the same no matter what color skin the people in the car had.

Nigbur says, "This trooper has nothing to that effect in his background. It's unfortunate the allegations have to be made that it's racially motivated because it's not. We're doing our job and doing what the citizens of Utah expect us to do."

Felders disagrees. "That officer was under the notion that just because I'm black or a minority that I had drugs in my vehicle," she said during an interview at her attorney's office Tuesday morning.

Both sides say a jury will decide if this case is racial profiling or not.

E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com

E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com

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Alex Cabrero and Mary Richards

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