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Los Angeles police officers will now have to explain their reasons for making so-called "pretextual stops" as part of a policy adopted Tuesday aimed at preventing the LAPD from stopping people for minor infractions in an effort to initiate a larger investigation for bigger crimes.
The move was unanimously approved by the five-member Los Angeles Police Commission. A pretextual stop is when officers stop pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists for minor violations to investigate other crimes not related to the violation, according to the commission agenda.
Under the new policy, officers can conduct a pretextual stop if they are acting on "articulable information" in addition to the violation, not "a mere hunch or on generalized characteristics." Officers will also be required to explain the reason for the stop on their body cameras, which should also record their response to questions from the person stopped.
GEORGIA POLICE OFFICER SHOT, MANHUNT UNDERWAY
Los Angeles Police Department building downtown. LAPD officers will now have to explain the reasoning why they are stopping someone, according to a new policy adopted this week by police commissioners. (iStock)
Failure to follow the procedure will result in "progressive discipline, beginning with counseling and retraining," the agenda said.
Commission President William Briggs criticized the use of such stops, saying they often harm people of color.
"This revised policy will not result in more crimes, or more guns, or more lawlessness in the city of Los Angeles," he said, LAist reported. "The current policy harms our Black and Brown communities. The current policy does not stop crime."
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, said the stops have resulted in thousands of firearms being taken off the street and that stopping the tactic threatens public safety.
"Police Commissioner Briggs should get off his soapbox, do his homework and tell the truth about pre-text stops and the important role they play in taking guns off our streets," a statement from the union's board read. "Taking these guns off our streets through traffic and pedestrian stops saved lives. They prevented our residents from being shot, shot at, intimidated, victimized and murdered. It’s that simple."
The union noted that officers from the LAPD's Newton Division recovered 817 firearms during 726 incidents last year. Of that, 507 people were arrested from traffic stops and another 115 from pedestrian stops, the union said.
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Citywide, violent crime is up 5% through Feb. 19, according to police data, but homicides were down nearly 17% from last year.
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