PUTNEY, VT - George Singleton is African-American and he has dredlocks down to his waist, so he says he's used to being "hassled" by authorities. In fact, he said he's been stopped by police officers -- for no apparent reason -- and searched for marijuana in states such as Texas, Ohio, Virginia, and California.

Those stops turned up nothing and he was allowed to go on his way.

That was the scenario he envisioned when, on Feb. 27, on a business trip from California to Indiana, he was stopped by a police officer in Craig County, Okla.

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