Here's a police reform that will work

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office is taking decisive action to end police traffic stops for low-level traffic violations — a practice that has had a disproportionately negative impact on people of color. No longer will the office take cases when the sole reason for the stop is for issues such as a single busted taillight or expired tabs.

It's a smart, fair move that's been a long time coming. It will reduce the number of Black people and other people of color being disproportionately stopped over minor vehicle equipment violations. Both Philando Castile in 2016 and Daunte Wright earlier this year were pulled over for minor vehicle equipment violations and ended up dead at the hands of police.

Under the new policy, the county attorney's office will no longer prosecute most felony cases in which a driver is pulled over for a minor infraction (such as an equipment violation) so that cops can seek evidence of a more serious crime.

"As leaders in the justice system, we must step forward and fundamentally change a long-standing systemic injustice," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in announcing the change. "Recognizing the role we play as prosecutors in perpetuating racial inequities that often result from these types of stops is an important first step in charting a new, less harmful course.''

While working on the policy, Choi wisely met with law enforcement officials in the county to seek their help and support. Several of them either stood with him during a Wednesday news conference or issued statements about similar efforts. Maplewood and St. Anthony are making changes, and Roseville put a new policy in place Aug. 1. In Hennepin County, Minneapolis police are also scaling back lower-level stops.

And in St. Paul, Chief Todd Axtell said in a statement that data from his city shows that the most traffic stops occur in areas with diverse, lower-income residents. "The last thing we want to do is add undue hardship to people struggling to make ends meet," Axtell said. "Together, we've embraced a clarion call to focus on the most dangerous driving behaviors while minimizing the disparate impacts of some low-level equipment-related traffic stops."

Axtell and other chiefs have told officers to concentrate on violations such as speeding and reckless driving, and St. Paul and other departments are looking at mailing warnings or citations to vehicle owners for other minor infractions.

Still, strong criticism of the policy shift came from some law enforcement groups and some Republican lawmakers who fought efforts to include the idea in this year's public safety bill. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, for example, said in a statement that the policy is a "slap in the face to victims of crime."

In another statement, the Ramsey County Deputies' Federation said to "unilaterally decriminalize illegal activity discovered pursuant to a legal traffic stop … sends a strong signal to those engaged in criminal activity that they can do so with impunity.''

Choi told an editorial writer that he previously believed the argument that looking for a lower violation in order to conduct a further investigation was good policing. But after reviewing data and having conversations with community members about the harm caused, he changed his mind. He said that type of policing does not help public safety as the recovery rate (of contraband) is only about 2%. The result "is unjust so we have to make some changes."

In a May 2020 evaluation of Minneapolis Police Department data, the Star Tribune reported that cops stop and search Black and East African drivers at disproportionately higher numbers than other races. Studies around the nation found similar results. A University South Carolina study of stops over 14 years, for example, concluded that "driving while Black" is a real issue and that the stops are more systemic than just a few "bad apple'' officers engaged in racial profiling.

Choi said little had changed with policing since the well-known 1968 Kerner Commission report following unrest in the 1960s over racism and police brutality.

"We have to stop asking African American and other families to adapt to the same policing practices. Instead, we [in the justice system] have to make the necessary changes ourselves."