Local Police Respond to New Hennepin County Attorney Traffic Stop Policy
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced last week that it doesn’t plan to prosecute people linked to low-level traffic stops. But local law enforcement leaders say they are concerned about that strategy.
Low-level stops include a range of offenses, such as those related to broken tail lights, excessive window tints or an obstructed view due to an object hanging from a car’s rearview mirror.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said those stops build distrust of law enforcement in Black and brown communities.
She also said it takes focus away from dangerous driving behaviors.
As a result, her office will no longer prosecute cases that stem from low-level stops. Ramsey County has already implemented a similar policy.
Multiple law enforcement leaders in the county, including the police chiefs in Brooklyn Park and Plymouth, attended a press conference last week where they spoke against the policy, noting they weren’t aware it would be enacted until Moriarty announced it publicly.
They also spoke about the difference those low-level stops can make during investigations.
A Brooklyn Park officer conducts a mock-traffic stop at a youth event earlier this year.
Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner cited multiple examples where Maple Grove police caught higher-level crimes from these routine traffic stops.
He said all of Hennepin County should not be directed by a policy that he feels is tailored for Minneapolis.
“If an officer is doing their job, they make a stop and they detect something else, I don’t think it’s the county attorney’s responsibility to decide what they are going to charge based on this policy,” Werner said. “If the officer does their job, and they discover these crimes, they should be able to charge these crimes.”
Werner said once the policy goes into effect on Oct. 15, officers in Maple Grove will continue doing work as they always have.
