Posted on 02/13/2020 6:27:09 PM PST by karpov
Minneapolis police officers will no longer ticket motorists for broken headlights or turn signals, instead handing out vouchers to pay for vehicle repairs under a new department policy unveiled Wednesday.
The changes come roughly a year after a pitched debate at City Hall over a possible moratorium on certain traffic stops, with some council members seeing the move as a way to ease the racial disparities in rates of traffic stops. Others worried that it would only harm residents in poorer neighborhoods, where gun violence is prevalent. That debate came weeks after a community forum where residents aired their frustrations with what they saw as years of harassment and discrimination at the hands of police.
At the time, police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he would study the issue, and in the months since has been meeting with senior staffers, crime analysts and community leaders to hear their advice on what to do to revamp the policy without endangering public safety.
Under the new policy, instead of writing a ticket, officers will now have the option of issuing drivers a voucher from the Lights On! program — financed by the nonprofit group MicroGrants, which partners with local organizations to promote economic self-sufficiency among lower income residents, according to its website. The vouchers can be redeemed at participating auto shops to cover the costs of services such as replacing a bulb from a rear taillight. Exceptions include cases in which equipment violations result in a crash or “harm to another,” according to the new guidelines. Motorists with outstanding warrants or who have committed some other criminal act can still be arrested after being pulled over.
“All MPD employees conducting motor vehicle stops for equipment violations shall issue a Lights ON! Coupon in Lieu of traffic citations, when available and applicable,”
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Because minorities is too dumb to change a headlight.
Ultimately - that’s what they’re saying.
Probably some can construct a grammatically correct sentence...
you sayin you is betta den me?
This seems like a good compromise.
Basically, law enforcement can still pull the car over. They can still check that things are as they should be, and that no law-breaking is happening.
But they cover the minor repair work, at least in part.
The biggest surprise for me in watching Live PD was how many people with broken headlights/turn signals/no registration have dope and guns in their vehicles.
Equality under the law........not
That is exactly the effect it will have.
I thought blacks didn’t get complaints about their equipment
Some probably recognize intentional sarcasm.
So because blacks take sh1t care of their vehicles the police will stop enforcing valid laws.
When has this ever happened for white people? Incredible.
We need cwii now more than ever. Too much socialist libtardism ruining the country.
Maybe?
The libtards are setting the stage for justified vigilantism.
Minneapolis-St Paul is totally lost... Only thing remaining to be accomplished is renaming it to New Somalia...
I guess my sarcasm meter is broken....
The police need to be reminded they don’t get to not enforce laws they don’t like. they are not the legislative branch of government. and they can be replaced with people who will enforce the laws lawfully passed for common sense safety reasons for everyone in the community.
When is this stupidity going to end?
They’ll cry when one of their kids gets run over by motorist driving without headlights.
Good Lord, how did we get so messed up?
#5. Let’s give this program a year to be in effect and then see what the results are.
The police usually have the option NOT to ticket a driver for operating a defective vehicle (say a burnt out tail light or front dim light - no excuse for a front headlight). In No. Virginia, they will ticket you FOR THE MONEY on the majority of the stops (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax - especially, Falls Church). This policy has done more harm re good public relations between the police and the citizenry than has some bad police incidents. Largely the results of greedy Democrat-run local governments who can’t manage their budgets.
If a private organization wants to help poor people pay for minor repairs to a car in order to keep it running SAFELY, I’m all for it. We, the people, should help our own when we can. If you have the govt do it, you’re screwed for the most part (favored repair shop references/contracts, payoffs - Oh, I’m talking about D.C.)
Minneapolis has always been a law enforcement experimental city with liberal/leftist mayors and police chiefs mucking up things. Let’s see if they muck this one up too.
How about a new policy of not blowing away young women who called police for help?
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