Officials voted unanimously Tuesday night to deprioritize traffic stops in Berkeley for “low-level” offenses, such as not wearing a seat belt or having expired registration tags, and focus police efforts instead on driving violations related to traffic safety.
Officials opted to forgo most enforcement of expired tags, equipment issues, and similar offenses to focus instead "on enforcing traffic violations that are a direct threat to public safety," Mayor Ted Wheeler wrote in a Twitter thread. The city will additionally mandate officers to follow "new consent search procedures," requiring "more documentation" and "more information" to people who encounter law enforcement wanting to examine their vehicle.
WATCH: BRITISH COLONEL RICHARD KEMP REPORTING FROM GAZA
"We have more work to do, but these changes reflect calls from the community, particularly from Black Portlanders, to change how [the Portland Police Bureau] conducts traffic stops and consent searches," Wheeler wrote. "We will track resulting data and ensure these changes have the intended outcomes of increasing equity and safety in our city."
TRUMP READY TO DEBATE BIDEN 'ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE,' BUT WILL IT HAPPEN?
Notably, Portland police will still retain the right to “be able to make stops allowed by state law and bureau directives," including low-level traffic offenses in some circumstances, Lt. Greg Pashley told the Oregonian. Drivers suspected of DUI or DWI are an exception to the new search directives.
WATCH: NO CLUE WHY THEY ARE PROTESTING: "I WISH I WAS MORE EDUCATED"
In February, city leaders approved a similar policy in Berkeley, California, that limited stops for seat belt violations and expired tags. The package of laws also requires police to get written consent before searching a motorist's vehicle.
CRITICS SLAM BIDEN'S ATTEMPT TO RELATE PERSONAL TRAGEDY TO POLICE OFFICER DEATHS
The decision was part of a package of police reform efforts approved Tuesday night to address racial disparities in policing that have been documented in Berkeley and around the nation. A working group convened by Mayor Jesse Arreguín, composed of academics, activists, police and city officials, came up with the reform package over the past year and presented it to the Berkeley City Council during a special meeting Tuesday at 4 p.m.
FROM DISGRACE TO REDEMPTION: DAN RATHER TO MAKE UNEXPECTED RETURN TO CBS
Mayor Jesse Arreguín said he believes that the move "will reduce racial disparities and reduce the tragic outcomes we’ve too often seen, people like Daunte Wright ... who died due to police violence in routine traffic stops.”
KARMA IS A B*TCH: COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO CRITICIZED NYPD NOW BEGGING FOR THEIR PROTECTION
Wheeler's announcement comes amid an alarming crime surge in the area. In May, the city has seen a 400% uptick in murder, a 10% increase in larceny, a 52% jump in motor vehicle thefts, and a 59% increase in robbery, compared to numbers from the same time frame in 2020, according to an analysis of police crime data performed by the Washington Examiner.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
