When an African-American woman traveling in Placentia, California was stopped by police during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, she was outraged when she read the ticket and discover that the letter 'N' was used as the racial designator. According to California police officers, the letter 'N' is the old law enforcement racial code for "Negro," and is currently not in use.

The woman was so upset by the racial designation that she went to her church and explained the events to her pastor and his congregation. They, in turn, filed a petition with the police, asking the chief to make sure the 'N' designation was not used again. According to the woman, "Even if he meant Negro, that's demeaning right there. The word Negro was designed to describe people who were treated as less than human."

The police chief has now instructed all of his sworn officers to use the letter 'B' as the racial designator for African Americans.