( Crazy.
Many senior LEOs choose to not make 'low-level' stops.
Many departments encourage their officers to ease off.
But to legally "ban" stops is crazy.
In effect that policy is telling a citizen that if an
officer wishes to stop them it is for a 'really serious'
charge. )

from
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/30/us/philadelphia-driving-equality-bill/index.html

Philadelphia to become first major US city to ban police from
stopping drivers for low-level traffic violations
By Maya Brown and Emma Tucker, CNN

Updated 6:26 PM ET, Sat October 30, 2021
Ending the crime of 'Drving while Black?'_00020619

(CNN)When Philadelphia's mayor signs landmark legislation as soon as
this week, the city will become the first major US city to ban police
from stopping drivers for low-level traffic violations -- stops that
studies show target Black drivers at disproportionately higher rates.

The Driving Equality Bill, passed 14-2 by the city council on October
14, categorizes certain motor vehicle code violations as "primary
violations," which allow officers to pull people over in the name of
public safety, and "secondary violations" that don't meet the criteria
for a lawful traffic stop, according to the office of Councilmember
Isaiah Thomas, who authored the bill.
The bill will take effect 120 days after Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney
signs it into law, which his office said he intends to do.
While Philadelphia is the largest city to ban such traffic stops, some
local and state governments have also enacted similar policies.

Minnesota county attorney to stop prosecuting non-public safety traffic
stops in honor of Philando Castile

In September, Ramsey County, Minnesota, announced prosecutors will no
longer pursue cases against people who are unfairly targeted and
detained during non-public safety stops. The new policy comes five years
after former St. Anthony Police Department officer Jeronimo Yanez
fatally shot Philando Castile seven times during a traffic stop in 2016
over a broken tail light, prosecutors said.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey announced in August that the city's
police officers will no longer conduct pretextual traffic stops for
low-level offenses as part of his 2022 budget proposal. Officers are
prohibited from making pretextual stops for "expired tabs, an item
dangling from a mirror, or an expired license," according to a city news
release.
In March, Virginia became the first state to prohibit these stops within
three months of the bill's introduction. Law enforcement officers cannot
lawfully stop motorists for driving without a light illuminating a
license plate, without brake lights or a high mount stop light, and with
certain sun-shading materials and tinting films, according to the
legislation.
"The bill also provides that no law-enforcement officer may lawfully
stop, search, or seize any person, place, or thing solely on the basis
of the odor of marijuana," the Virginia bill states.
The police department is on board
Dennis Jay Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice,
told CNN that there are "risks in both directions" in allowing police to
make traffic stops for minor violations and prohibiting them altogether.
"The danger of not eliminating them is that it drives a wedge between
the public and the police," Kenney said. "If you're tired of driving
while Black, you're less likely to cooperate during these stops."
"The risk in the other direction, in the case of traffic safety, is that
we prohibit some behavior and require you to have taillights because
it's safer, people can more readily stop behind you. So, by saying these
violations no longer matter, then to the extent that they impact public
safety, then public safety will be negatively impacted," Kenney added.
State AGs are 'stepping into the police reform business' to hold
officers accountable
State AGs are 'stepping into the police reform business' to hold
officers accountable
Kenney said Philadelphia has decided that pretextual stops are
disruptive and the risk to the relationship between the police and the
community "is greater than the likely pay off of getting a bad guy every
now and then."
Once the Driving Equality Bill is signed into law, the Philadelphia
police will work on directive amendments and necessary training. Max
Weisman, a spokesperson for Councilmember Thomas, said the police
department has exhibited support for the bill and has negotiated in
"good faith."
The bill was informed by the development of the Bailey pilot program, a
result of the 2011 settlement agreement of Bailey v. City of
Philadelphia, which requires the police department to collect data on
all stop-and-frisks and store it in an electronic database. The lawsuit
alleged that thousands of people in Philadelphia are illegally stopped,
frisked and detained by police officers.
Low-level offenses such as registration plate and bumper issues will now
be categorized as secondary offenses, which bar officers from conducting
traffic stops, unless there is an additional high-level safety
violation, according to the Philadelphia police department.
"We believe this is a fair and balanced approach to addressing racial
disparity without compromising public safety," the department said in a
statement. "This modified enforcement model for car stops furthers the
Department's priority of addressing the issue of racial disparity in the
Department's investigative stops and complements the Department's
efforts to address these same issues in pedestrian stops."
'A traffic stop is a rite of passage'
Councilmember Thomas introduced the bill with nine cosponsors in October
2020, aiming to address "the tension between police and community
members by removing negative interactions," according to his office.
"I am humbled by every person who told my office of the humiliation and
trauma experienced in some of these traffic stops," Thomas said. "To
many people who look like me, a traffic stop is a rite of passage -- we
pick out cars, we determine routes, we plan our social interactions
around the fact that it is likely that we will be pulled over by police."
The legislation is also part of a package including his companion bill
that mandates a public, searchable database of traffic stops that will
be published monthly. The police department will be required to compile
digital records of which officers conduct traffic stops, who was
stopped, the reason for the stop, and other data that will be included
in the database.
Portland, Oregon, police challenged in 'really tough
environment' as violence spikes
Portland, Oregon, police challenged in 'really tough environment' as
violence spikes
"These bills end the traffic stops that promote discrimination while
keeping the traffic stops that promote public safety," his office said
in a press release. "This approach seeks to redirect police time and
resources towards keeping Philadelphians safe while removing negative
interactions that widen the divide and perpetuate mistrust."
The new legislation does not change the motor vehicle code that drivers
are legally required to follow, but those who commit minor infractions
now only receive a warning or citation by mail.
The bill only removes the enforcement mechanism of a traffic stop,
according to Weisman. It designates seven secondary violations that
prohibit traffic stops, including bumper issues, minor obstructions,
broken lights, and a license plate that is not visible or clearly displayed.
Minor infractions such as broken taillights, the smell of marijuana,
improperly displayed registration stickers or hanging items from a car's
rearview mirror have been criticized as a pretext for racially motivated
traffic stops.
Black drivers, which comprise 48% of Philadelphia's population,
accounted for 72% of the nearly 310,000 traffic stops by police officers
between October 2018 and September 2019, according to data from the
Defender Association of Philadelphia. As of this year, Black drivers
account for 67% of stops compared to just 12% of White drivers, the data
shows.
Alan Tauber, the acting chief defender for the Defender Association for
Philadelphia, said the legislation is a "great first step to building
more trust between our police and communities of color," adding, "We're
hopeful that passage of the Driving Equality Bill is just the beginning
of informed and meaningful conversations about positive changes to our
justice system that will benefit all Philadelphians."