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Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) warned state Republicans on Thursday moments after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting local governments from inhibiting law enforcement that her Democrat constituents may respond with riots. @FoxNashville posted footage of the Thursday press conference at which Oliver and other Democrat legislators held at the Capitol in which they announced their disapproval of the bill. The legislation easily passed in the State Senate on Thursday in a partisan vote 26 to 6. The previous week, the Tennessee House passed the bill in a partisan 68 to 24 vote. “So yeah, we’re gonna...

A new California law is set to take effect in the beginning of the new year that will require police officers to inform drivers of the reason for a traffic stop before proceeding with any further questioning. The legislation, which was passed in the fall of 2022, is intended to be a significant step in addressing pretextual stops and creating more transparency. Before AB 2773, officers were not required to immediately tell a driver the reason for the traffic stop. The measure also requires law enforcement agencies to include the reasons for each traffic stop on arrest reports. Typically, the...

Connecticut’s law enforcement has been rocked by a potential scandal involving how its officers have been reporting traffic stops. An audit exposed a troubling pattern of state troopers manipulating records to make themselves appear to be more productive. The report reveals that at least 100 officers were fabricating traffic reports to boost their numbers. The revelation has raised questions about the credibility of officers tasked with upholding the law and has led some to question whether they can be trusted to handle more serious criminal cases.

A cop pulls you over for a minor traffic violation. After giving you a warning or a ticket, he says, "Drive safe!" and starts walking away. But he immediately turns around and walks toward your car again, saying, "Hey, can I ask you something?"That maneuver, known as the "Kansas Two-Step," is aimed at evading the Fourth Amendment's constraints on searches and seizures. Police are not supposed to continue detaining you after the ostensible purpose of the stop has been accomplished unless they reasonably suspect you are involved in criminal activity. The two-step is designed to extend the encounter by making...

An Outlaws Motorcycle Club member who was arrested during Biketoberfest when his motorcycle ran out of gas as deputies said he tried to flee from traffic stops is in more trouble. He was recently accused of grinding down identification numbers on the motorcycle’s engine and transmission, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Robert Patrick Wilson, a 31-year-old Ocala resident and Outlaws member, was charged with two felony counts of possession of a vehicle with altered vehicle identification numbers, according to a press release Wednesday from the sheriff’s office. Wilson has been locked up at the Flagler County jail since...

Lawmakers in Philadelphia have passed legislation barring cops from making minor traffic stops that critics say unfairly target minorities — becoming the first major US city to do so. Mayor Jim Kenney is expected to sign the legislation into law in the coming days, and it would take effect 120 days after that, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Philadelphia City Council voted 14-2 on Thursday to pass the Driving Equality Bill — designed to reduce “unequal police practices” against minority motorists, or what’s been called “driving while black,” for minor offenses such as busted tail lights or expired inspection stickers....

Quite a few cities looking to bow to the demands of the Black Lives Matter movement to minimize the presence of police in their communities have been considering having unarmed, civilian “peace officers with clipboards” take care of traffic stops. One of the latest examples of this phenomenon comes to us from Los Angeles. Sending out someone in casual business attire and a book of traffic tickets probably sounds like a good way to cut down on police shootings, right? Obviously. But what if it’s not the police doing the shooting?In Baltimore, Maryland this week we saw yet another...

In the East Bay, in what's believed to be a first in the nation proposal, the City of Berkeley has proposed ending police traffic enforcement. Next week, Berkeley's City Council will vote on a proposal to create a Department of Transportation and use employees in that department to make traffic stops instead of Berkeley Police officers. "A minor traffic violation should not have resulted in the murder of a black or brown body, but at the same time we can also re-examine the nature of punitive law enforcement and broken windows policing that makes traffic enforcement so deadly to begin...

Oral arguments set for US Supreme Court to decide whether a traffic stop is invalid when the police officer is wrong about the law. Is a police officer's traffic stop valid if he is wrong about the law? The US Supreme Court announced it would take up that question when it returns in October to hear the case of Nicholas Brady Heien. On April 29, 2009, Surry County Sheriff's Sergeant Matt Darisse was on Interstate 77 when he saw a Ford Escort hit the brakes, and the right-side light did not illuminate. Sergeant Darisse decided to pull over the Ford,...

ALAMEDA — Police say they removed an unusually large amount of guns, including several assault weapons, from the streets last month. Of the 13 guns confiscated in March, many were discovered by patrol officers during routine traffic stops, Lt. David Boersma said. "We've had a dramatic increase in weapons violations during the past month," he said. A patrol officer making a routine traffic stop March 19 on Central Avenue discovered a Tech-9 machine pistol in the driver's waistband, Boersma said. The officer ordered the driver out of the car because he appeared fidgety and kept touching his waistband, Boersma said....

First year report on racial profiling released Governor calls for permanent collection of racial profiling data more training on consent searches Governor Rod. R. Blagojevich today announced actions the state will take to eliminate racial disparities in traffic stops, as results from the first year of Illinois' racial profiling study were released. The study, which involved approximately a thousand police agencies statewide, found that minorities are more likely to be pulled over than whites for a traffic stop and two and a half times as likely to have their car searched when pulled over. "Some of the results of this...

POLICE ROUTINELY FINGERPRINTING FOR TRAFFIC STOPSFeb 11, 2005 - FreeMarketNews.comby Michael J. RossJust when you thought it was safe to venture out on the road, visit scenic Lake Michigan, and get away from prying eyes in urban centers and corporate environments, the authorities have come up with a new, intrusive twist. Police in Green Bay, Wisconsin, are now fingerprinting anyone that they pull over at a traffic stop -- even for the most minor of traffic violations. This means that, should you be stopped by the Green Bay police for having a malfunctioning brake light, playing your car stereo too...

Back in the last century, in high school American government class, we actually had to be able to recite and discuss each of the first ten amendments to our Constitution. I still remember reciting the Fourth Amendment in class. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated and no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The important words, we learned, were that...

Random traffic stops to take place in Michigan KIMBALL TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) Federal agents plan to randomly stop drivers at unannounced, rotating checkpoints in Michigan, looking for illegal immigrants, terrorists and drug or weapon smugglers. Starting Tuesday, U.S. Border Patrol agents at the checkpoints will ask passengers their citizenship and will have leeway to ask a host of follow-up questions, the Detroit Free Press reported. The effort is part of President Bush's attempt to increase security along the northern border, said Immigration and Naturalization Service spokeswoman Karen Kraushaar. ``The terrorism component cannot be ignored in addressing border security,'' Kraushaar said....