SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. — Siskiyou County officials on Monday approved a partial settlement in Mathis v. County of Siskiyou, a civil rights class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and its partners alleging pervasive and systematic racial discrimination against Asian American residents.
The settlement, approved by the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff’s Office, institutes sweeping reforms to law enforcement traffic stop practices and eliminates illegal property liens, while claims related to residents’ access to water remain in active litigation.
Under the agreement, the sheriff must adopt a new traffic stop policy that prohibits race-based stops and prevents deputies from using stops to harass residents or pressure them into consenting to searches. Deputies who request consent to search must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause, advise individuals of their right to refuse, and provide interpreters for non-English speakers.
Body-worn cameras must remain activated during stops, and deputies are required to state the reason for each stop on camera. Traffic stops are limited in duration and scope unless legal cause exists to suspect criminal activity, meaning deputies may not expand a stop for an unrelated issue without specific justification.
The policy also bars deputies from stopping drivers solely because they are in a high-crime area or have out-of-state license plates, according to the settlement terms.
“This settlement reaffirms that no one should be singled out by police because of their race,” said Megan Vees, a litigation staff attorney with the Asian Law Caucus. “Asian American community members of Siskiyou County came together and won their fight to live their lives without fear of being racially profiled.”
Vees said the legal fight is not complete, noting that water access remains a central issue for residents. “The work is not yet over. Access to water, a basic life necessity, is still at the heart of residents’ concerns,” she said. “We will continue challenging targeted and unjust restrictions to the community’s water access.”
The settlement establishes independent oversight of the Sheriff’s Office. The county will pay for an auditor to monitor compliance, hold biannual community meetings, gather public feedback, and issue compliance reports with recommendations for improvement.
“I am extremely thankful that the settlement includes an independent monitor to ensure that all traffic stops by law enforcement will be conducted according to the law,” said Mai Nou Vang, a plaintiff in the case.
As part of the agreement, all property liens imposed to collect unpaid cannabis-related fines have been removed. The county also agreed it will not use liens to collect code enforcement fines unless state law is changed to explicitly allow such practices.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by the ACLU of Northern California, Asian Law Caucus and Covington & Burling LLP, alleging discriminatory restrictions on water access, racial profiling in traffic stops, unconstitutional search and seizure practices, and unlawful property liens that disproportionately targeted Asian Americans.
Attorneys later filed a supplemental complaint alleging that county zoning enforcement was being used as a tool to deprive Asian American residents of water. In November, a court rejected the county’s effort to dismiss claims, asserting that these policies placed residents in danger by restricting access to clean water.
Traffic stop discrimination claims in the case cited 2021 data showing that more than 28 percent of Sheriff’s Office traffic stops involved Asian drivers, even though Asian and Pacific Islanders made up just 2.4 percent of the county’s voting-age population. Attorneys said that represented a rate nearly 12 times higher than expected based on population share.
“This settlement is a critical step toward ending the targeted harassment that Asian American residents of Siskiyou County have endured for years,” said Emi Young, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. “These traffic stop reforms and the removal of illegal liens are real progress, but our fight will continue until every resident has access to adequate water to meet their daily needs.”
Plaintiffs said the case reflects broader concerns about dignity, safety and belonging in the rural Northern California county.
“It is my hope that through this settlement the county will accept us and see us as their residents,” said Susanna Va, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “To include us as one and treat us as the same, to not see us by the color of our skin or how we look, but as human beings who live here. Not just for me, but for my children and other people who come here and want to treat this as their home.”
Tags: Siskiyou County, civil rights lawsuit, Asian American communities, racial profiling, water access, ACLU
