The confirmation of Col. Terrence B. Sheridan as superintendent of the Maryland State Police has been stalled by black legislators unhappy with the agency's handling of racial issues.

Yesterday, the Senate delayed until Wednesday a vote on Sheridan, who has been serving as superintendent of the 1,521-officer law enforcement agency since his appointment in May by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Sen. Verna L. Jones, a Baltimore Democrat and chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, said black lawmakers had asked for information on what progress has been made in diversifying the agency's personnel and on its handling of allegations of racial profiling among troopers making traffic stops.

"We just want to be sure all those issues are addressed before he's approved," Jones said.

The state police have been the subject of racial discrimination allegations for decades; the agency settled a lawsuit five years ago charging troopers with targeting minority motorists.

Jones said legislators have informed Sheridan verbally that they want not just information but evidence of commitment to diversifying the department and ensuring that its enforcement practices are racially sensitive.

"We've had promises over the years, but they've been kind of shallow. We want some accountability," she said.

The settlement in the racial profiling lawsuit in 2003 made sweeping changes in traffic-stop procedures, including requiring troopers to document the races of drivers stopped and get written permission before searching vehicles.

The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the plaintiffs in that case, contends that black and Hispanic motorists are still being stopped disproportionately by troopers, though none of the 80 racial profiling complaints filed by motorists in the past five years has been upheld by the state police's internal review.

Sheridan was not available to answer questions about the black lawmakers' concerns. But State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said the agency has "complied with every aspect" of the consent decree.

"And we believe we have emerged from this whole process as a model department when it comes to ensuring that every opportunity is being taken to ensure that racial profiling is not a part of this police department," he said.

Shipley said he could not provide data on how many racial profiling complaints there had been, or how they had been resolved.

tim.wheeler@baltsun.com