IN THE NEWS: LA City Council Unanimously Votes to Ban Minor Traffic Stops
Megan Barth/California Globe
In a unanimous 14-0 vote Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved a motion urging the civilian Board of Police Commissioners to severely restrict pretextual traffic stops (minor traffic stops), effectively handcuffing LAPD officers from using broken taillights, expired registrations, some moving violations, cracked windshields, missing license plates, and equipment failures as grounds to investigate more serious crimes.
The motion directs the Police Commission to bar officers from pulling over motorists, bicyclists, or pedestrians for low-level infractions unless there is a “significant and imminent safety risk,” aligning Los Angeles with San Francisco’s already-controversial policy.
The motion was spearheaded by City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson (South LA) a longtime protégé and close political ally of Mayor Karen Bass. Harris-Dawson got his first job nearly 30 years ago at the Community Coalition, the South Los Angeles nonprofit founded by Bass. He succeeded her as President and CEO in 2004 and has remained one of her most loyal allies ever since.