Feb 27, 1998:
OHP Trooper Alvin Lavender stops George Singleton for "weaving and speeding." He arrests Singleton, a 49-year-old black herbalist from Vermont who wears his hair in dreadlocks, after finding what he presumed to be a bag of marijuana in his car. The herbs were actually rosemary and mullein used to treat tuberculosis. Singleton spent 25 days in jail after his arrest.

While he wasn't charged with speeding or weaving, Singleton was charged with DUI (even though blood tests for intoxicants came up negative) and reports being threatened with the bogus charge of carrying an imitation controlled substance.

August 18, 1998
Army Sergeant Rossano Gerald and his 12-year-old son are subjected to unconstitutional search and seizure practices of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol while traveling to a family reunion. Stopped twice within minutes of crossing the OK border, the two endured a humiliating and frightening detention that lasted two and a half hours while police dismantled portions of Rossano's car and terrorized his son with a barking drug dog. The arresting patrol cars evidence camera was turned off halfway through the ordeal. No contraband was found and Rossano was released with a warning ticket and over $1000 in damage to his vehicle.

May 18, 1999
The ACLU, Rossano Gerald and his son file suit against the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. The NAACP joins this suit.

July 1, 2000
A new Oklahoma law makes it a misdemeanor for any law officer to detain or arrest anyone based on his or her race, and permits those who believe they were detained by police merely because of their color or ethnic background to file a complaint with the state Human Rights Commission or their district attorney.

Requirements that police gather data about the race/ethnicity and gender of those subjected to traffic stops, originally included in the bill, met resistance and were stripped out of the version enacted into law, according to a Tulsa World report.

August 25, 2000
Keenan Meadors, an African-American and 15-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department, claims that he was a target of racial profiling. He claims that shortly after midnight, on Oklahoma 11 near US 75 in the Tulsa area, Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Jeremiah Hoyt first drove alongside him in an unmarked car, then dropped back to follow him for about a quarter-mile before pulling him over on for a broken taillight and suspicion of drunken driving. Meadors tail light was not broken, and he does not drink. During the stop, Hoyt intimidated and threatened Meadors, shouting and grabbing his gun. Hoyt never asked Meadors to leave his car or participate in a sobriety test. He did not know Meadors was a police officer.

October 5, 2000
Black Minnesota couple Robert Williams and Shanae Fleming were stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Mike Plunkett sometime around midnight because Williams weaved a little bit within his own lane.

Williams was ordered out of his car and frisked. The couple was handcuffed while the patrolman searched their car. Although no contraband was found, more than $15,000 in cash was seized. Williams explained to the trooper that he was a contractor on his way to a business trip in Houston and was carrying money to buy equipment. Williams was given a receipt for $15,180, given $25 for travelling purposes and allowed to proceed.

October 10, 2000
Tulsa Police Officer Keenan Meadors files a complaint against the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in a letter to Public Safety Commissioner Bob Ricks. Relating his experience, Meadors writes to Ricks, "This makes it clear how white officers engineer or manipulate minorities into a position to justify the use of deadly force."

November 2000
In a letter to Tulsa Police Officer Keenan Meadors, Oklahoma Public Safety Commissioner Bob Ricks writes: "There is no independent evidence which supports your allegation that the traffic stop was pretextual in nature." He states that a civilian riding with Trooper Hoyt "corroborates the account given by Trooper Hoyt." However, Ricks' letter goes on to say "the trooper became engaged in an argumentative posture with you. This will not be tolerated. Administrative action has commenced to correct this deficiency."

December 21, 2000
Robert Williams and Shanae Fleming file suit against the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and trooper Mike Plunkett.

April 19, 2001
The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety agrees to pay $75,000 to Army Master Sergeant Rossano Gerald and his son in exchange for their agreement not to pursue the case against them any further. Trial was set to begin the following Monday.

November 15, 2001
The Oklahoma House of Representatives Judiciary Committee discussed was the possible amending of the state's racial profiling law to include requirements for data collection. Director of the Oklahoma ACLU JoAnna Bell, in support of requiring law enforcement officials to record data about traffic stops, appeared before the committee to say that approximately one-fourth of the calls for assistance received by the ACLU dealt with allegations of racial profiling.

February 5, 2002
An amendment to Oklahoma's racial profiling law requiring all law enforcement officials to collect data about all traffic stops is referred to the State's House Rules Committee. (From the Oklahoma State Legislature Home Page.)