Suit alleges housing bias

The cities of Lancaster and Palmdale are waging a discriminatory war against black and Latino residents on public housing assistance, using police intimidation and other tactics to force them out, a new lawsuit alleges. Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

The federal suit filed by two residents and civil rights groups alleges Latino and black residents using Section 8 vouchers for rental assistance face unannounced searches by sheriff deputies, increased surveillance by county housing agents and organized spying from their neighbors.

By contrast, white individuals who use the vouchers, a group largely consisting of the elderly and disabled, aren't subject to intimidation, according to the suit.