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The ACLU of Northern California released a report on May 13, 2026 breaking down Sacramento Police traffics stops of Black and Latino drivers disproportionate to the percentage of the population.<\/p>\n
ACLU<\/p>\n
A report drawn from data on traffic stops by the ACLU of Northern California alleges that the Sacramento Police Department violates the civil rights of minority residents through biased traffic enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cDriving While Black and Brown: The Case for Banning Racially Biased Traffic Stops in Sacramento\u201d<\/a> uses data collected under California\u2019s Racial and Identity Profiling Act and found the stops were disproportionate to the percentage of population.<\/p>\n \u201cTargeting Black and Latino drivers for minor violations like tinted windows is basically stop-and-frisk for driving,\u201d said Carlos Montes-Ponce, senior organizer at the ACLU of Northern California.<\/p>\n He noted that the stops have negligible consequences in public safety. \u201c(But) they can have deadly consequences for people of color,\u201d he said. \u201cSacramento should follow the lead of cities like San Francisco and Berkeley that have restricted enforcement of non-moving traffic violations.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the report\u2019s key findings:<\/p>\n Black residents made up 12% of Sacramento\u2019s population but accounted for 33% of SPD traffic stops in 2023-24.Black drivers were 3.1 times more likely to be stopped than white drivers, and 70% of those stops were for equipment or non-moving violations \u2014 such as registration, plates or window obstruction \u2014 rather than urgent safety issues.Black drivers were searched at a 17% rate after stops, compared with 8% for white drivers and 12% for Latino drivers. Black drivers were 2.1 times more likely than white drivers to be searched.Latino drivers made up 38% of stops for window obstruction.Push to change practices<\/p>\n According to the ACLU, police across California frequently use minor traffic violations as a pretext to investigate criminal activity when no reasonable suspicion exists.<\/p>\n