The president of an historically-Black college in Raleigh, North Carolina accused the sheriff’s office in Spartanburg County, South Carolina of targeting a bus from the college carrying students to an economic conference in Atlanta, ABC News reports.
Shaw University President Dr. Paulette Dillard said the bus was targeted for a minor traffic infraction, which was used as a pretense to search the bus and the students who were on board. Even though the issues for which the deputy pulled over the bus were minor, the traffic stop was long enough for a sheriff’s unit with a drug-sniffing canine to arrive. The dog searched the students’ luggage, but nothing illegal was found.
The incident mirrors a harassment tactic used by many law enforcement officers to delay targeted groups. Similar harassment happened to the Delaware State women’s lacrosse team traveling to a game in Georgia earlier this year.