Bartow community rallies behind pastor who claims racial profiling, harassment by police during traffic stop
BARTOW, Fla. - A well-known pastor is calling for change at the police department after he says he was racially profiled and harassed.
Senior Pastor Don'Tavius Sanders of St. James AME Church of Bartow alleges the inappropriate behavior and misconduct occurred during a traffic stop over the weekend.
What we know:
Community members and church members rallied at Fort Blount Park downtown in support of Sanders Thursday afternoon.
"I can't even put it into words how grateful I am that they'd come out and show their appreciation and support at this time," said Sanders.
Timeline:
According to the Bartow Police Department, Sanders was pulled over for a malfunctioning tag light at the intersection of Main St and Martin Luther King Junior Blvd. shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
They add that Sanders' window tint was too dark and beyond the legal limit. Police say the officer tapped on Sanders' window to try and talk to him, but Sanders didn't respond initially. Then later, he denied allowing them to search his car.
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"During that time, one of our K9s arrived, and we did a free air sniff, which is permissible under the Supreme Court. It alerted the car which gave them probable cause," said Chief Stephen Walker.
Officers searched the car but didn't find anything. They tried to print the citations but there was a problem with the machine, so they gave Sanders a warning and released him.
The other side:
Walker says the traffic stop was legal though during the interaction the officer, who had been on the street for only 31 days, was verbally aggressive with Sanders.
"A lot of these younger people aren't great at talking to people so it's a learning curve to learn how to talk to people and communicate," said the chief.
The chief says he's making his K9 policy more stringent because of this incident. Now, there has to be more evidence or indicators before searching someone's car.

When it comes to citations issued over the last 18 months, the chief says department data shows there's no disparity of treatment between Whites and African Americans.
During the rally, Walker apologized to Sanders personally, though Sanders says it's going to take action and hopes this incident will spur change.
"The way I felt--the pain, the humiliation. It's going to take more than words for me," he said.
During the rally, supporters also urged the police department to adopt dash and body cameras.
What's next:
There is currently an internal affair investigation into the incident.
The Source: FOX 13's Carla Bayron gathered the information for this story.