Navajo basketball team accuses police of bias

The boys' basketball team from a high school on the Navajo Nation filed suit against three New Mexico state police officers, alleging the players were singled out because they were Native.

The team from the To’hajiilee Community School played a regional basketball tournament in March 2006 when some items were apparently stolen from a locker room. The lawsuit claims the police officers ordered the To’hajiilee team to line up on the basketball court, in front of the spectators, and confined to a room while their belongings were searched.

The police officers also searched the team's school bus. But none of the allegedly stolen items were found, the ACLU says.

The suit was filed on behalf of the players, the To’hajiilee and the To’hajiilee school board. To’hajiilee is part of the Navajo Nation but is detached from the main reservation.

Get the Story:
Suit: Officers singled out Navajo team for thefts (KOB 7/18)
Press Release: High School Basketball Players Illegally Searched at a New Mexico Regional Tournament (ACLU NM 7/18)