SDPD rejects call from citizens commission to limit pretext traffic stops

If police see a minor violation on a vehicle, like a broken tail light or tinted windows, but have suspicions that a driver is engaged in criminal activity, officers can pull them over and investigate.

Police consider these stops crucial for effective crime fighting. But research has shown that they disproportionately target Black and Latino communities.

In August the San Diego Commission on Police Practices, the city's citizen oversight board, recommended that the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) change how officers conduct these stops.

They suggested not stopping people for administrative violations, avoiding general assumptions when determining whether to pull someone over and not investigating further when there is only evidence of a minor violation.

CPP Executive Director Roger Smith said these traffic stops are inherently misleading and, in California, only lead to arrests or evidence recovery in less than 5% percent of cases.