Measure Prohibits Pittsburgh Police Traffic Stops for Secondary Violations

Hoping to cut down on traffic stops that advocates say heighten the risk for negative interactions between police officers and citizens, Pittsburgh City Council voted on Tuesday to prohibit officers from pulling over drivers for secondary violations.

In an 8-to-1 vote just minutes after numerous members of the public and advocates asked for more input into the legislation, the council opted to move forward with the limit on secondary violation enforcement, which would make it so drivers can no longer be stopped for things such as a broken tail light, the location of a registration plate or an out-of-date inspection certification.

The bill won't take effect for 120 days, council members said, in an effort to give the public time to respond, incoming Mayor Ed Gainey the opportunity to review and the police bureau the time to train its officers.

It was an effort sparked by a desire to combat racial disparities; council members cited reports and articles asserting that traffic stops — "by far the most common police encounters with civilians," according to a New York Times story they named — suffer from racial bias and target Black and Hispanic drivers on the basis of less evidence than white drivers.

The text of the bill notes that other municipalities have "begun changing their enforcement policies to ensure that policing resources are used to protect public safety and not to penalize people for being poor, who, in all too many cases, are people of color."

Councilman Bruce Kraus deemed it "the right thing to do," and recalled a series of meetings with Black leaders throughout the Hilltop neighborhoods in 2020 after a summer of racial justice protests.

"In the course of those conversations, one topic came up every time we met," Mr. Kraus said, "and that was traffic stops and the conversations that parents are forced to have with their teenage sons and daughters about what to do and what not to do if one is stopped by the police."

According to an annual report from the city's Department of Public Safety, there were 9,912 individuals in Pittsburgh involved in traffic stops in 2020. Of those, 3,238 were Black men and 1,405 were Black women; while 2,984 were white men and 1,529 were white women. About 650 stops led to an arrest, the report showed.

The bill's only opponent on council, Anthony Coghill, spoke out against the body's process in considering the legislation. He urged members to consider a real public hearing before passage, insisting that a traffic stop bill would impact everyone in the city and demands transparency.

Mr. Coghill, who said earlier this month that ending traffic stops could impact public safety and make it so officers can't spot serious violations, said that even those who support the bill need a seat at the table.

"This thing has been rushed. It has not been thought through. We've heard it across the city today," Mr. Coghill said, referring to the dozen-plus members of the public who spoke at the top of council's Tuesday meeting.

Many of the commenters pleaded with council to hold a public hearing before passing the legislation — including some who support the bill's substance.

Brandi Fisher, president of the Alliance for Police Accountability, praised the Rev. Ricky Burgess — the bill's main sponsor — for pushing a bill that eliminates traffic stops, but asked council to delay a final vote.

"We have an incoming mayor who is pushing to have a city for all, where we all work together to shape a city that embodies and reflects equity," Ms. Fisher said, referencing incoming Mayor Ed Gainey, who will be sworn-in on Jan. 3. "I think now is the time to strongly reconsider the current culture of shaping legislation without community input and inclusion."

Addressing critiques about the process, Mr. Kraus said council revisits topics regularly and can amend, rescind and improve on the bill if needed — "as we see fit" through conversations with constituents.

Council members have already amended the bill before, adding a 120-day grace period before the legislation goes into effect and a 60-day grace period for vehicle registration — meaning that a driver won't be pulled over for expired registration unless the registration is more than 60 days out of date.

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