Chicago police traffic stops for minor violations ripped as 'gateway to criminal charges'

At a special hearing held by Chicago’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on Tuesday evening, dozens of Chicagoans and a panel of experts gathered to provide input on what meaningful traffic stop reform could look like in Chicago.

Commission president Anthony Driver Jr. said the purpose of the hearing was to learn how “pretextual traffic stops” — which critics describe as stops for minor infractions used as an excuse, or pretext, to search for evidence of other criminal activity — hurt communities and public safety, and “to learn from other jurisdictions that have changed their policies on police-initiated traffic stops.”

One of the panelists was John Choi, the county attorney for Ramsey County, Minnesota, which includes the city of St. Paul. Ramsey County is one of several jurisdictions across the country that have limited traffic stops for “non-public safety” reasons, such as stops for non-moving violations like a broken taillight.

“I used to be a prosecutor who used to believe that these types of traffic stops actually could make a difference around public safety, and I have evolved by looking and studying research and data … and also, most importantly, by listening to my community,” Choi said.

Since Ramsey County police departments implemented the change in 2021, “non-public safety” traffic stops decreased by 86%, with Black motorists experiencing the largest decline, and there was “no discernible effect on crime rates,” Choi said.

As an alternative to pulling motorists over for equipment violations, officers note the violation and a letter is sent to the driver about the defect with an option to redeem a vehicle repair coupon for drivers who need financial assistance with repairs, Choi said.

His office also ended the prosecution of cases that stem solely from traffic stops that pose no danger to public safety. Earlier this year, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx floated the idea of implementing a similar policy in Cook County. Choi has called it the most controversial move he’s made in his tenure.

The other panelists included a member of the San Francisco police commission who helped pass a rule last month to limit traffic stops for low-level violations; a former sergeant with the Cleveland Division of Police, who said a focus on conducting high volumes of traffic stops eroded community trust in police, took time away from solving crimes and left fewer officers available to answer calls for service; and two researchers who found Ramsey County’s traffic stop reforms did not impact crime rates or gun seizure rates.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) agreed to hold Tuesday’s two-hour hearing after Free2Move, a coalition of advocacy organizations, submitted more than 2,400 petition signatures to the commission requesting a meeting devoted to pretextual traffic stops. The meeting was held at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Washington Park.

Public debate about pretextual traffic stops has intensified in the last few months. Advocacy groups have called for an end to such stops saying they have little effect on public safety and disproportionately impact Black and Latino motorists.

The stops rarely result in the confiscation of any contraband. During the first half of this year, less than 1 in every 100 stops by Chicago Police Department officers led to any contraband recovered, a WBEZ analysis found. And although dozens of cities experienced a decline in traffic stops post-pandemic, the number of stops rose in Chicago between 2020 to 2023. A New York Times investigation found that in 2023, Chicago had the highest stops per capita among major cities it reviewed.

There has been a decline in stops so far this year, according to the department’s data. However, questions remain about whether those figures include all stops conducted by Chicago police officers. An Injustice Watch and Bolts investigation published this month found nearly 200,000 traffic stops went unreported last year, in violation of state law.

CPD’s use of stops for minor traffic infractions has come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of the March fatal police shooting of Dexter Reed, which was sparked by a traffic stop for an alleged seat belt violation. The Sun-Times has reported that the tactical police officers involved in that shooting conducted dozens of uneventful traffic stops in the days before the gunfight with Reed, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating those stops to determine whether they were “unjustified.”

“Pulling back on pretextual traffic stops is going to have little effect on crime, but it’s going to have a great effect on community trust and community engagement with the police,” said Frank Baumgartner, another expert panelist at the hearing and a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has studied traffic stops.

Many Chicagoans who spoke during the hearing reiterated how pretextual traffic stops further erode trust between police and communities.

“What we have in this city is a trust problem, and it’s the tip of the iceberg,” said Dion McGill, a member of the district council for the 7th Police District, which covers the Englewood and West Englewood community areas. “When I see a news article that says, on top of the countless traffic stops that we all see each and every day in the community, there’s 200,000 unreported ones that are occurring … how am I supposed to tell people to trust when they’re being lied to every day?”

Others detailed the potential far-reaching consequences of just a single pretextual traffic stop.

Patricia Jjemba, director of legislative and external affairs at the Cook County Public Defender’s office, said pretextual traffic stops have led to gun possession charges for many of the office's clients who mistakenly believe that having a valid FOID card alone allows them to possess a firearm while traveling in their vehicle. A WBEZ analysis found there were a growing number of people in Cook County who were arrested on suspicion of unlawful use of a weapon after a traffic stop.

“When CPD finds a gun in the car, they arrest drivers and even passengers who would otherwise be law-abiding, gun-carrying citizens, but for a lack of their concealed carry license begins then the criminal prosecution that leads to jobs and housing loss, pretrial appointments and conflict with work, child care and educational commitments,” Jjemba said.

“Officers target and wait for these drivers to commit minor traffic offenses or outright fabricate violations as justification to pull them over,” she said. “These stops are not only constitutional violations, but also the gateway to criminal charges, inflicting a lifetime of collateral consequences.”

Angel Novalez, CPD’s chief of constitutional policing, spoke at the hearing on behalf of the department.

“Since becoming superintendent about a year ago, Supt. [Larry] Snelling has made it very clear that a strategy to reduce crime should not solely encompass traffic stops,” Novalez said. “Additionally, the superintendent has acknowledged that oversight of our traffic stops is absolutely necessary.”

In 2025, the department will “prioritize a Fourth Amendment training” for officers that will cover traffic stops and include two eight-hour courses, Novalez added.

Snelling this year agreed to bring the department’s use of traffic stops under the federal consent decree. At Tuesday’s hearing, Novalez said the consent decree would provide a “robust oversight process to ensure [CPD] develops strong policies and training.”

However, advocates and community organizers worry the federal process would slow down reform. Instead, they prefer that the CCPSA oversee traffic stop reform.

Commissioners are continuing to work on a way to retain their power to set policy on traffic stops even if the issue gets added to the consent decree.

“The commission is also engaged in conversations with the independent monitoring team that oversees the consent decree, the Illinois attorney general’s office and the city’s law department to ensure that the topic of traffic stops remains within the commission’s policies jurisdiction,” said Driver, the commission president.

Driver concluded the hearing with a personal reflection on the impact traffic stops have had in his life.

“I’ll speak for myself as a person who’s been pulled over four times and since April of this year,” Driver said.

“It’s not just, you know, an inconvenience for me,” he added. “Every time I get pulled over, I go through a whole process of trying to figure out how to make myself smaller and how to make myself less threatening.”

Amy Qin is a data reporter for WBEZ.