Pretext stops can also unjustly funnel people into the criminal justice and immigration enforcement pipeline, Montes-Ponce noted.
“What may start as a tinted window issue can easily become something much larger,” he said.
When Montes-Ponce’s team began hosting community events about pretext stops earlier this year, the findings confirmed what residents already knew. “None of this data surprised them,” he said. “What was shocking for them is why hasn’t anything been done?”
Following the lead of cities like San Francisco and Berkeley that have limited enforcement of non-moving traffic violations, ACLU NorCal’s criminal justice team started mapping the local policy landscape in Sacramento. What they found was a yawning gap: The city had no strict policies limiting pretext stops or Fourth Amendment search and seizures.
ACLU NorCal then collaborated with district officials, local activists, and the city’s police oversight committee to host in-person events in the districts with the highest rate of pretext stops. The campaign also recently launched an on-the-ground canvassing effort in those communities and has expanded outreach to additional districts to consolidate support for the issue.
“It’s a matter of political will,” said Montes-Ponce, who is optimistic the City Council will take up the issue this year. “I think there is a good chance if the community comes out and supports it.”
Learn more by reading our report, Driving While Black and Brown: The Case for Banning Racially Biased Traffic Stops in Sacramento.