Law enforcement leaders say Hennepin County's new traffic stop policy is "deeply troubling"
Law enforcement leaders Friday morning spoke out against Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty's announcement earlier this week that her office would no longer prosecute felony cases stemming from low-level traffic stops in an effort to end the disproportionate targeting of minorities.
Moriarty said the low-level stops for things like a broken tail light or not having vehicle tabs don't work, and don't help with public safety. According to Minneapolis police data from 2017 and 2018, a gun was recovered in less than half of 1% of the stops, Moriarty said on Wednesday.
"We want the police to spend their time and resources addressing dangerous driving, speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence," she said.
At the press conference Friday morning, Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association President Scott Boerboom called the policy "deeply troubling."
"We do not pick and choose which laws to enforce. Yet this decision by the county attorney does exactly that. Putting us in an impossible position to make it harder for us to do our jobs," he said.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said the policy will have serious public safety consequences.
"Accountability in Hennepin County is a real serious issue right now. We're talking about wanting to prevent bad things from happening, wanting to prevent further shootings. We need the support to have the tools that we need to get those bad actors out of our communities," she said. "Frankly, it doesn't matter what race you are. We are looking for people who are committing these violent acts in our communities, that are scaring our children, scaring our elderly. And to have those tools taken away to protect the people who are committing those acts is absolutely just the wrong thing to do."
Witt said that so far this year, legal traffic stops have led to the recovery of 175 illegally possessed guns — nearly 50% of the total seized this year. She says one example comes from her deputies pulling over a car for illegal window tint and discovering a 9mm handgun inside the vehicle that was connected to a homicide in Robbinsdale.
In another case, Witt said a man was arrested after a stabbing victim was found inside his car. The driver had been pulled over for not having a license plate.
"That victim credits law enforcement for saving her life that day," said Witt.
The chiefs of police association, which includes 34 chiefs and Witt, says Moriarty did not consult them before she announced the decision. They say the policy fails to recognize that each community in Hennepin County has different needs.
Moriarty said the policy, which begins Oct. 15, aligns with the non-public safety traffic stop provision that was agreed to by the city of Minneapolis in both federal and state consent decrees. She added that there could be exceptions to the policy on a case-by-case basis.
"Other jurisdictions across the country have successfully implemented the same policy in recent years, including in Ramsey County," Moriarty said in a statement. "The same objections arise every time and they are overcome by the policy change being successful every time in shifting law enforcement resources to focus on violent crimes and dangerous driving conduct that take lives."