LA City Council Recommends Banning Pretextual Police Stops By LAPD
The 14-0 vote would limit stops for minor violations, and a city report found about 760,000 traffic stops from 2022 to 2025.
- On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 requesting the Board of Police Commissioners update regulations to bar pretextual traffic stops, except where violations pose significant safety risks.
- Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and City Councilman Mike Bonin introduced the motion in 2020 following George Floyd demonstrations, aiming to address racial disparities that critics say enable discrimination.
- A report by the Chief Legislative Analyst examined approximately 760,000 traffic stops from April 2022 to September 2025, finding approximately 86% involved individuals perceived by LAPD officers as Black or Latino.
- Despite the Council's recommendation, the Board retains final authority. Assistant Chief Emada Tingirides warned in March that police remain necessary for traffic safety amid concerns over violent crime.
- Mayor Karen Bass will work with Chief Jim McDonnell to implement officer training on the new policy, as the Board plans to place the item on a future agenda for discussion.
12 Articles
12 Articles
LA City Council Unanimously Votes to Ban Minor Traffic Stops
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 direct…
‘Forty stops, two tickets:' LA City Council votes to end pretextual police stops
In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council moved to end the Police Department’s use of pretextual stops, a law enforcement tactic long criticized by civil rights advocates who say it disproportionately targets Black and Latino residents. Pretextual stops occur when officers pull over or detain someone for a minor violation as a [...]
Council OKs end to ‘pretext’ traffic stops - Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group
Wave Wire Services LOS ANGELES — The City Council approved a proposal May 6 calling on the Los Angeles Police Department to prohibit what are known as pretextual stops, a move one council member described as a historic step for civil rights. On a 14-0 vote, the council requested the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners to update regulations on the use of pretextual stops with the aim to bar such detentions of motorists and cyclists except i…
Push to limit traffic stops passes City Council — but LAPD policy not changing yet
The Los Angeles City Council voted to limit "pretextual" stops, which have been blamed for racial disparities in enforcement, calling on police oversight officials to quickly adopt new policies.
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