North Charleston is the third-largest city in South Carolina, with more than 100,000 residents, about
47% of whom are African American and 37% white.
The police department, however, is more than 80% white and has disproportionately pulled over black drivers in recent years, records show.
In 2010, black drivers were
involved in 65% of all traffic stops that did not result in a ticket or arrest, or about 25,000 stops. Then-police chief Jon Zumalt justified the stops as a means to bring down violence, but critics argued officers had engaged a policy of systematic harassment.