South Bay group rallies to support state bill against racial profiling

SAN JOSE, Calif (KGO) -- A deep concern about racial profiling and police brutality has prompted community members in San Jose to join a statewide protest.

Dozens of people from the group South Bay PACT boarded buses Wednesday morning in San Jose headed to Sacramento for the rally.

The group is concerned about racial profiling by police departments. They are throwing their support behind Assembly Bill 953, Law Enforcement: Racial Profiling requiring all law enforcement agencies in the state to document the racial identity of every person stopped by police.

They point to the San Jose Police Department's data release earlier this year.

The group says it showed Blacks and Latinos make up one-third of the population in the city, but nearly two-thirds of the police stops that do not lead to an arrest.

While they acknowledge San Jose police are taking steps forward with body cameras and bias training, they want other departments across the state to be more forthcoming.

"We are looking for police accountability. Here, in San Jose, we are already ahead of the curb, because we have already been picking up this data about stops that don't lead to arrests. It already shows the stops of African-Americans and Latinos is completely disproportionate to the actual population," said Nancy Palmer Jones with the First Unitarian Church of San Jose.

Over a thousand people are expected for the rally, which is taking place on the south lawn of the state capitol.

One of the speakers at the rally was Assembly Member Shirley Weber, who introduced the bill.

The bill they're pushing for is heading to the senate floor for a vote.

If you are interested in getting involved, click here.