Hennepin County joins shift away from ‘pretextual’ enforcement

Charges from minor traffic violations found widely discriminatory

Starting October 15, Hennepin County will no longer pursue charges stemming from pretextual traffic stops — minor violations such as expired tabs or tinted windows — following growing concerns over racial disparities and limited public safety benefits. The policy change, announced by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, aligns with similar moves in cities like Los Angeles and Denver and neighboring Ramsey County.

Moriarty emphasized that data consistently shows pretext stops disproportionately target Black and brown drivers without significantly contributing to crime reduction. She believes the new policy will help law enforcement prioritize more serious public safety concerns at a time when many departments are understaffed and overextended.

“The data is critical. The data is consistent across the country,” Moriarty said. “Since they’re doing this in Ramsey County and it’s been highly successful, it made no sense that the driver in Hennepin would drive into Brooklyn Park or Brooklyn Center, and the rules were changed there — especially when we are the prosecutor for all of Hennepin County on felonies.”

The policy also aims to bring consistency across jurisdictions. “It also made no sense that if the Minneapolis Police Department couldn’t do these things in Minneapolis, yet the sheriff could in Minneapolis, or the State Patrol,” Moriarty added.

The change comes ahead of a court-mandated ban on pretextual traffic stops by the Minneapolis Police Department. The ban is part of a consent decree with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, but implementation remains in its early stages.

Across the United States, pretextual stops have come under scrutiny following fatal encounters between police and Black motorists. One of the most well-known examples in Minnesota is the killing of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights during a 2016 traffic stop for a broken tail light. 

Castile, who was legally carrying a firearm, was fatally shot by police. His mother, Valerie Castile, often carries the broken light as a symbol of the everyday violations that too often escalate.

“Philando was stopped about 49 times, probably more, for equipment violations, stuff like that,” Moriarty said. “I can only imagine what it must be like to see the lights in your rearview mirror and know that you will have to interact with a police officer if you are a Black or brown person.”

Valerie Castile echoed the emotional toll of such encounters. “It’s time for us to move on and accept the fact that it’s wrong,” she said. “It’s dead wrong that some people don’t have to worry about having to talk with their children before they leave the house to make sure they come home safe. 

“Some people can drive their cars for 50 years and never get pulled over. Some people don’t have to worry about that, but we do,” said Castile.

Data from the Stanford Open Policing Project shows Black drivers are about 20% more likely to be stopped than white drivers nationwide, supporting concerns about racial profiling and unequal enforcement.

Some law enforcement officials, however, have voiced concerns about the potential consequences of scaling back traffic enforcement. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office reported that 175 guns were recovered from over 93,000 traffic stops this year. 

“When 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,” Sheriff Dawanna Witt said.

But others argue that ending pretextual stops doesn’t necessarily reduce law enforcement’s ability to intercept illegal firearms. In 2022, former Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic H. Choi told reporters that gun recoveries had not declined after their department stopped charging cases that began with non-public safety stops. 

“Last year, we had one of the highest years in the number of guns that were recovered and arrested,” Choi said. “So I would say no, that policy has not thwarted that effort.”

Not all responses to Moriarty’s announcement have been rooted in data. Anoka County Prosecutor Brad Johnson drew criticism after referencing the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in a Facebook post, suggesting that routine traffic stops like the one that led to Timothy McVeigh’s arrest can prevent major crimes.

Author and legal expert Jessica Pishko, who studies the political power of law enforcement in her book “The Highest Law in the Land,” pushed back. “Timothy McVeigh was one guy in 1995. I mean, truth be told, we hope that if someone has bombed a federal building, we’re not relying on a random traffic stop to get that person.”

Moriarty responded by clarifying that McVeigh’s stop would not fall under the new policy. “The reason he got pulled over is because he did not have a rear license plate, that would not come under our policy,” she explained. 

Ramsey County implemented a similar policy in 2021 under County Attorney John Choi. An independent study credited the change with reducing racial disparities in traffic enforcement while freeing up resources to focus on violent crime. “This independent research shows we not only greatly reduced the unequal treatment of many in our community due to these stops,” Choi said, “but also that law enforcement has been able to move scarce resources to more serious issues.”

Moriarty said the idea of ending pretext stops had been in motion before she took office. Her predecessor, Mike Freeman, had explored a similar policy. However, relations with law enforcement reportedly cooled after Moriarty decided to charge State Trooper Ryan Londregan for the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop.

“There’s this intentional backlash and seeking out prosecutors who are seen as too progressive to blame,” Pishko said. “This is a campaign that’s been going on since 2020 and now it’s being uplifted by major leaders of the GOP as somehow an acceptable thing in light of, again, horrific gun violence.”

Pishko added that law enforcement agencies, whether they acknowledge it or not, operate in political spaces. “At this point, I think it’s fair to say that all law enforcement are political entities,” she said. “Every time they go out on the street, meet with the DA, don’t meet with the DA, or make statements in public, they are broadcasting a political stance.”

As Hennepin County joins a growing list of jurisdictions shifting away from pretextual enforcement, the debate continues over what truly keeps communities safe, and who gets to define public safety.

Clint Combs welcomes reader responses at ccomb0284@gmail.com.