Written by: Emily Charalambous
Traffic stops conducted by law enforcement officials represent a frequently occurring initial point of interaction between individuals and the United States justice system. According to community-led campaigns, national publications, and the Department of Criminal Justice, traffic stops disproportionately affect racial-ethnic and low-income minority motorists and the communities in which they live. Law enforcement officers frequently breach prescribed constitutional boundaries.
Many violations pertain to pretextual motorist stops, constituting a crucial component of street enforcement operations in The Louisville Community. A pretextual stop refers to a law enforcement officer's utilization of a minor offense, such as a malfunctioning headlight, as a basis for stopping an individual from probing into alleged criminal behavior unrelated to the initial violation. It constitutes the typical manner in which individuals come into contact with the criminal justice system. "This is when and how most people encounter the criminal apparatus, and it’s the first step of mass incarceration, the initial net that sweeps people of color disproportionately into the criminal system,” Nonetheless, the inquiry should extend beyond an individual-centric approach who is or not racist, which primarily concerns identifying individuals who exhibit racist behavior, and instead pose the question, "In what manner is racism functioning in this context?" Understanding the impact of racism on a community as a whole necessitates understanding the interplay between structures, procedures, conventions, and outcomes.
The US Supreme Court rulings of 1968 and 1996, presided over by Chief Justice Warren and Justice Scalia, respectively, granted police officers the authority to elevate a minor traffic violation in a traffic stop based on sufficient suspicion and broad definitions of criminal activity profiles (Fliss et al., 2020). However, profiling is a significant cause of disparities in unprecedented consequences of minor offenses police stops as indicated by Fig 1, a traffic stop over a mismatched plate that turned fatal. When I asked a police officer whether traffic stops conducted for minor violations may result in discriminatory targeting and increased racial disparities?
Fig 1: (Kirkpatrick et al)
He recalled that during an in-service training in September 2019, a white officer stated, "We have a black and white issue in this city," "The minorities are the majority, and they're the ones that are committing the violent crime," and "until we quit catering to them people, we're never going to solve anything." A black policeman said that the officer's remarks "stuck a stake in me," "I had to leave the room," and that "learning that the officer in the West End" was "shocking" (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney's Office Western District of Kentucky Civil Division, 2023)
Nevertheless, the prioritization of implementation and patrol activities results in varying levels of exposure to patrol concentrations and association thresholds among various groups, depending on neighborhood-level factors. The phenomenon of segregation at the community level on the basis of race-ethnicity and income, in conjunction with institutional regulations that give preference to specific gaps and types of incidents, coexists with any further inequalities stemming from interpersonal prejudice centered on believed race-ethnicity traits.
Law enforcement departments' objectives and discretionary decisions are subject to evolution over time and are adaptable in both the immediate and distant future. These factors impact law enforcement personnel and communities above individual relations and warrant thorough scrutiny. Despite this, discrepancies in traffic stops differ based on the types of stops. For instance, in North Carolina, Black, and Hispanic drivers dominate in every category of stops, compared to their representation in the general population. Additionally, they constitute more investigatory and economic ceases than safety-related stops (Fliss et al., 2020). Contrary to established structures that view economic stops as impartial and safeguarding, critical cross-cultural structures fail to recognize the correlation between race, ethnicity, and income inequalities. Given that Black and Hispanic people are frequently overrepresented in low-income and low-wealth groups, they might be disproportionately vulnerable to economic stops. According to a resident's account when talking, the request made by a law enforcement officer for searching a vehicle is “a double-edged sword”—“If you don’t comply,” the officers will call in a drug-sniffing dog, “but if you say yes, you surrender your rights” (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney's Office Western District of Kentucky Civil Division, 2023). Segregation increases the likelihood of residing in areas with limited resources, where investigatory stops occur more frequently, thereby contributing to multi-level disparities.
Law enforcement officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) frequently conclude traffic stops fast. Several instances conclude within 10 minutes or lesser. However, in certain instances, law enforcement officials may prolong traffic stops for minor infractions beyond what is required to address the offense, resulting in an unnecessary and extended detainment of 30 to 50 minutes. In 2022, a federal court ruled that a police officer had transgressed the Fourth Amendment rights of a Black teenager throughout a traffic stop. The impacts of disproportionate traffic stops are tremendous. As per other residents' accounts, "you learn to help speed the process along” by complying with searches (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Kentucky Civil Division, 2023). (United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Kentucky Civil Division, 2023). The law enforcement officer had grabbed the minor from the vehicle, conducted a frisk, and unconstitutionally prolonged the stop to employ a drug-sniffing dog. At various locations, officers of LMPD have exacerbated the situation by employing handcuffs on individuals who have not been arrested and do not appear to present any identifiable danger. Officers apprehended Black and Hispanic motorists more frequently than other drivers, typically for a minor or technical infraction, mirroring national trends. That held true particularly for police personnel working in gang operations or placed in high-crime regions(Kirkpatrick et al., 2022). During instances of detainment, law enforcement officials frequently employ coercive tactics to persuade individuals to consent to searches. According to a resident's testimony, law enforcement officials requested the inspection of his vehicle numerous times, leading him to believe that such searches were an ordinary component of getting pulled over.
Moreover, law enforcement officials request permission to conduct a pat-down or search before or amid a pat-down; if an officer solicits consent to search while simultaneously conducting a pat-down, the individual's consent may not be deemed voluntary. Though not inherently illegal, specific strategies can heighten the pressure of traffic stops and compromise the voluntary nature of any given consent. In addition, allocating numerous vehicles and law enforcement personnel to customary traffic stops for minor offenses, thereby potentially inducing a sense of dread, is a controversial issue.
Excessive officers available at an incident may result in unwarranted public apprehension. However, the department's rules still permit the use of control in allowing more than two law enforcement officers to be present during a traffic stop. Deploying a group of four or five agents to traffic stops implies that these officers cannot carry out other patrol obligations. Moreover, the strategies employed by LMPD have led community members to perceive withholding consent as ineffective. According to Sarah A. Seo, a traffic stop scholar and law professor at Columbia University, “Never before have government officials, policymakers or prosecutors tried to limit how police officers use traffic stops in their investigatory role — in fact, historically, making these stops was encouraged” (Kirkpatrick et al., 2022). A proposal to limit the enforcement of minor infractions and other laws would enhance traffic stops for minor violations. “These new regulations "might be changing the tide." In addition, a local family member of such incident’s victim proposed that “This is about putting the most effective responders into these situations” (Levin, 2022).
References
Fliss, M. D., Baumgartner, F., Delamater, P., Marshall, S., Poole, C., & Robinson, W. (2020). Re-prioritizing traffic stops to reduce motor vehicle crash outcomes and racial disparities. Injury Epidemiology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-019-0227-6
Kirkpatrick, D. D., Eder, S., & Barker, K. (2022, April 15). Cities Try to Turn the Tide on Police Traffic Stops. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/us/police-traffic-stops.html
Levin, S. (2022, April 21). US police have killed nearly 600 people in traffic stops since 2017, data shows. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/21/us-police-violence-traffic-stop-data
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Kentucky Civil Division. (2023). Investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government. https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1572951/download
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