Dear supporters of our Police Reform Project, Hi everyone - As you may recall from our last newsletter, we have scheduled a meeting for individuals and organization members who are interested in learning more about a coalition we are developing to end low-level, non-safety motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian stops. The meeting is on September 17, 2024 from 12:00 to 1:00. Thank you to everyone who has responded that you would like to attend. If you have not responded and are interested, please email Jill at jpaperno@empirejustice.org. Part of the focus of our meeting will be the legislation introduced by Senator Hoylman Sigal in 2024 which we discussed in our last newsletter. As we ramp up efforts to support this legislation, we want to highlight communities that are reconsidering traffic enforcement methods around the country. In Chicago, the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, a police oversight body, recently held hearings about pretext or secondary stops. A recent article described one of the hearings. John Choi, the County Attorney and top prosecutor for Ramsey County, Minnesota (which includes St. Paul), said, “I used to be a prosecutor that 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 continued, acknowledging something we have been pointing out – there is no link between crime rates and low-level, non-safety stops. Since Ramsey County police departments implemented the change in 2021, “non-public safety” traffic stops decreased by 86%, with Black drivers experiencing the largest decline, according to Choi. Meanwhile, there was “no discernible effect on crime rates,” he said. Choi also noted that his office ended the prosecution of cases that stemmed solely from non-safety traffic stops. An article discussing Choi’s ending of these low-level traffic stops in Ramsey County noted that 96% of the stops did not result in a driver being cited or arrested, that more than half of the 540,000 stops in 2023 involved Black drivers, and that Black people make up less than 30% of the population. Only 14% of drivers stopped were white. Choi noted in that article that less than 2% of stops resulted in charges. Commission president Anthony Driver, Jr., who spoke personally at the Chicago hearings stated, “I’ll speak for myself as a person who’s been pulled over four times and since April of this year… It’s not just, you know, an inconvenience for me…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.” Across New York we face the same challenges as those described in these hearings – how to end racial disparities in traffic enforcement, and how to convince New Yorkers that the harms of these stops are great, and that they do not contribute to public or road safety. One way to help persuade the public is for us to be able to share stories of those stopped and the impact it has had on them and their families. If you would like to share your story, please email Jill at jpaperno@empirejustice.org. And once again – we are having our first coalition meeting for individuals and groups interested in learning more about our work to address low-level, non-safety stops on September 17, 2024 at 12:00. Please reach out to Jill for further information. Katie Blum, Esq. Jill Paperno, Esq. | 
