CHICAGO (CBS) — Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is investigating a new policy that would prompt prosecutors to dismiss gun and drug charges stemming from certain traffic stops.
Under a draft policy still pending, prosecutors would not file drug, firearms and theft charges in cases that start with minor traffic stops, such as broken taillights or having an expired vehicle registration.
Foxx said the policy is intended to end pretextual traffic stops that disproportionately target people of color, and rarely end in an arrest.
“In fact, data shows that only 1 in 1,000 of these checks results in the discovery of a weapon. More importantly, the psychological and emotional toll these stops cause, especially on Black and brown drivers, is immeasurable and undermines trust among law enforcement.” and the communities they serve,” Foxx said in a statement about the draft policy.
Foxx said her office is working with local law enforcement and other partners to “refine and implement policies that truly serve the best interests of our community” before implementing actual policy changes.
The draft policy is presented in the wake of this policy the death of Dexter Reedwho was shot and killed by police on March 21, during what police told the Civilian Office of Police Accountability was a traffic stop because Reed was not wearing a seat belt.
Although COPA has said Reed shot an officer in the wrist after he was stopped, prompting three other officers to fire back, the agency has yet to rule on whether the traffic stop and subsequent shooting were justified. Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten has questioned the veracity of the officers’ claim that they stopped Reed for a seat belt violation.
“Specifically, COPA is unsure how the officers could have observed this seat belt violation given their location in relation to [the] vehicle and the dark tints on vehicle windows,” Kersten wrote in an April 1 letter to Chicago Police Chief Larry Snelling. “This evidence raises serious concerns about the validity of the traffic stop that led to the encounter between the officers.”
Foxx said her proposed policy change “is a testament to our commitment to procedural justice and our determination to address and rectify racial disparities within our justice system. We are listening to the voices in our community and taking meaningful steps to ensure safer and more equitable lives.” future for everyone.”
Data from a 2022 Chicago Office of Inspector General report found Black drivers were four times more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
The Inspector General’s office analyzed nearly two and a half years of police stops and use of force incidents, from October 17, 2017 through February 28, 2020, and found “an overwhelming disparity in the extent to which Black and non-Black people were targeted by the police stopped.” These disparities occur in every Chicago Police Department district, regardless of the district’s racial makeup.
“Black people were overwhelmingly disproportionately stopped by CPD, regardless of the demographic makeup and crime level in the stop’s district,” the report said. “Black people were disproportionately subjected to violence regardless of the demographic makeup of the district and the level of crime in the district.”
Overall, black people make up about 30% of the city’s population, but were responsible for 68% of investigation stops by police, and 84% of use of force incidents after investigation stops during that time. From that point on, the CPD was more likely to use higher levels of force against blacks than against non-blacks.
“Decades of data show that these stops do not increase public safety. Instead, they perpetuate a cycle of mistrust and fear, especially in under-resourced communities. This draft policy is a crucial step towards restoring that trust. It recognizes the disproportionate impact of this. It stops communities of color and aims to eliminate practices that lead to unfair and unjust outcomes,” Foxx said.
The policy is experiencing a backlash. Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) released a statement calling Foxx “reckless.”
“These policies increasingly protect dangerous criminals who use their vehicles to transport weapons through our neighborhoods and commit crimes,” Tabares said.
Former Ald. Bob Fioretti, the Republican candidate in the race to succeed Foxx as Cook County State’s Attorney after she resigned at the end of her term in December, called the proposed policy change “a dereliction of duty that will cost lives in the very neighborhoods” most need protection.”
“Prosecutors must use every legal tool in the toolbox to take illegal guns off the streets and keep our neighborhoods safe,” he added.
