According to a Washington Post database, about 11 percent of all fatal shootings by police in 2015 occurred during traffic stops; Black people accounted for a disproportionate share of those deaths. But while these approaches are improvements, we endorse a more radical response: Get police out of the business of enforcing traffic laws. The city council in Berkeley, Calif., has approved a series of reforms, including deprioritizing traffic stops for minor offenses. Will the public be safe if police can’t use traffic stops as a way to fight more serious crime? Traffic enforcement is the most common type of interaction between citizens and police, and it is hard to imagine ending it.

Source: Washington Post April 16, 2021 21:22 UTC