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Several pastors and members of the clergy protested in a park just two blocks from the Bartow Police Department on Thursday, following a controversial traffic stop involving a local pastor who says he was racially profiled and humiliated.
Pastor Don’Tavius Sanders of St. James AME Church says the incident happened this past Sunday, just blocks from his church.
Officers told him he was pulled over for a broken license plate light, but Sanders says the stop quickly escalated.
“I have no issue with a tag light being out,” Sanders said. “Everything after that just did not seem justified.”
Sanders says when he declined a request to search his vehicle, officers brought in a K-9 unit. The dog reportedly alerted, giving officers probable cause to search his car anyway.
They found no drugs, no weapons and issued no citation.
MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/bartow-pastor-police-stop-investigation-apology/67-5a9c6a0f-0305-431c-85ee-67e174f6affd