The history of law enforcement's interaction with Chicanos in the Southwest is one of abuse and oppression. In many cases, abuse has been instigated by government policy; however, relatively recent attention to the civil rights of traditionally oppressed minorities has provided the legislative framework for legal challenges to such abuse. The evidence indicates that many police departments and police personnel have not been conscientious, to say the least, in implementing the civil rights mandated by law in interactions with Chicanos. Common approaches by officers in encounters with Chicanos include the use of abusive and threatening language; unreasonable demands for submissive behavior; field interrogations and filmings, along with indiscriminate searches of persons and personal property; physical intimidation; inappropriate use of disabling paraphernalia; and the use of deadly force. Recommendations for dealing with this problem include (1) continuing pressure for changes in national, State, and local laws to increase civil rights protection; (2) advocacy for change in individual police department policies which precipitate tension and mistrust; (3) increased demands for citizen grievance procedures and police accountability; (4) recourse to the Federal Government when local investigations of the police use of excessive force are inadequate; and (5) police training in human relations techniques for social control. Sixteen footnotes are listed.