On Friday Judge Thomas Schroeder dismissed a federal lawsuit that alleged that Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson had been discriminating against Latinos. The Department of Justice claimed that Johnson’s office was in the practice of specifically targeting Latino drivers.

Judge Schroeder ruled that Justice Department attorneys failed to demonstrate that Johnson's agency had engaged in any unconstitutional law enforcement directed against Hispanics, writing in a 253-page ruling that, "Not a single person testified that any ACSO employee carried out any alleged improper directive or otherwise violated any individual's constitutional rights."

"Indeed, all witnesses, including those called by the Government, denied that they ever did or knew any ACSO officer who did," added Schroeder as quoted in the Associated Press.

Schroeder’s ruling is at odds with a statistical study commissioned by the Department of Justice, which found that Alamance County Sheriff's Office was 10 times more likely to stop Latino drivers for traffic violations than non-Latino motorists.

Dena Iverson, a spokeswoman for the DOJ expressed her disappointment at the ruling and said her agency would review it before deciding whether or not it would appeal Judge Schroeder’s decision. 

Carolyna Caicedo Manrique, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said that the decision “flies in the face of a mountain of evidence that Sheriff Johnson and the Alamance County Sheriff's Office engaged in discriminatory policing,” according to a statement.

Manrique explained that the Department of Justice has presented what she deemed expert testimony that Latinos in Alamance County were "seven times more likely to be stopped and cited than non-Latinos in the community.”

"We urge the Department of Justice to appeal this miscarriage of justice in order to ensure all Alamance County residents can again have confidence in their Sheriff's department," she said.

Judge Schroeder, recognizing that some of the officers had used ethnic slurs toward Latinos, called the language "offensive and reprehensible” and said the use of such ethnic epithets “should not be tolerated in any civil society, much less in a law enforcement environment."