Siskiyou County Settles Claims Over Race-Based Traffic Stops, Agrees to Major Reform

Siskiyou County, CA–The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff’s Office today approved a partial settlement in Mathis v. County of Siskiyou, a civil rights class action lawsuit that exposed the county’s pervasive and systematic racial discrimination against Asian American residents. The settlement institutes sweeping traffic stop reforms and removes illegal property liens, while water access claims remain in active litigation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Sheriff’s Office to follow new traffic stop reforms and comply with independent oversight

Under the settlement’s terms, the sheriff must adopt a new Traffic Stop Policy prohibiting race-based stops and preventing deputies from using stops to harass residents or pressure them into consenting to searches. When deputies request consent to search, they must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause of a violation, advise individuals of their right to refuse, and provide interpreters for non-English speakers. Body cameras must remain on, and deputies must state the reason for all stops on camera. Stops are limited in duration and scope unless legal cause exists to suspect criminal activity. For example, if a driver is stopped for a broken taillight, a deputy cannot ask unrelated questions about other criminal activity unless something gives the officer reason to believe another crime has been committed. Deputies will also be prohibited from stopping drivers solely because they are in a high-crime area or have out-of-state plates.

“This settlement reaffirms that no one should be singled out by police because of their race. Asian American community members of Siskiyou County came together and won their fight to live their lives without fear of being racially profiled,” said Megan Vees, litigation staff attorney at Asian Law Caucus. “The work is not yet over. Access to water, a basic life necessity, is still at the heart of residents’ concerns. We will continue challenging targeted and unjust restrictions to the community’s water access.”

The settlement establishes accountability through independent oversight. The county will pay an auditor to monitor compliance and conduct biannual community meetings to gather feedback and issue compliance reports with recommendations for improvement. “I am extremely thankful that the settlement includes an independent monitor to ensure that all traffic stops by law enforcement will be conducted according to the law,” said Mai Nou Vang, plaintiff in the case.

All property liens placed to collect unpaid cannabis fines have been removed, and the county has agreed not to use liens for code violation fines unless state law changes to permit such liens.

Legal challenge over Asian American residents’ access to water continues

In 2022, the ACLU of Northern California, Asian Law Caucus, and Covington & Burling LLP filed the class action lawsuit alleging discriminatory restrictions on water access, racial profiling in traffic stops, improper search and seizure practices, and unlawful property liens targeting Asian Americans. The legal team later filed a supplemental complaint alleging that the county was using zoning enforcement to deprive Asian Americans of water. In November, the court rejected the county’s request to throw out Plaintiffs’ claims alleging the county placed Asian Americans in danger by restricting their access to water.

Plaintiffs’ traffic stop discrimination claims cited data from 2021 that showed over 28 percent of Sheriff’s Office traffic stops targeted Asian drivers, even though Asian and Pacific Islanders comprised only 2.4 percent of the county’s voting-age population—a rate nearly 12 times higher than what would be expected given their proportion of the driving age population.

“This settlement is a critical step toward ending the targeted harassment that Asian American residents of Siskiyou County have endured for years,” said Emi Young, staff attorney from the ACLU of Northern California. “These traffic stop reforms and the removal of illegal liens are real progress, but our fight will continue until every resident has access to adequate water to meet their daily needs.”

“It is my hope that through this settlement the County will accept us and see us as their residents,” said Susanna Va, plaintiff in the case. “To include us as one and treat us as the same, to not see us by the color of our skin or how we look, but as human beings who live here. Not just for me, but for my children and other people who come here and want to treat this as their home.”

Read the press release in Mandarin, Cantonese, or Hmong.