PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council has overwhelmingly passed a bill that will prohibit police from stopping drivers for certain low-level violations.
Before the vote, bill sponsor Isaiah Thomas said the bill is designed to address the phenomenon known as “driving while Black."
"The data showed Black drivers were significantly more likely to be pulled over than our white counterparts," said Thomas.
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"72% of Black Philadelphians have been pulled over, while 90% of stops are for code violations that don’t even warrant a ticket."
The bill classifies seven violations as not enforceable by police stops, including driving without an inspection or an emissions inspection, without a registration visible, or with a single tail light out.
The bill passed 14-2, with the Republican council members voting against it and Councilmember David Oh raising public safety concerns.
Thomas amended the bill after working with the Philadelphia Police Department on something they could live with, but he said less than 1% of stops result in the discovery of contraband. He argued traffic stops for low-level violations are not even an effective law enforcement tool.
"I think it would be naïve of us in the year 2021, with all the technology and means and mechanisms that we have," Thomas said, "to say that our best means of public safety is to randomly pull people over and hope that we get lucky to find some kind of weapon or contraband."
Council also passed a companion bill that requires a public, searchable database of traffic stops. Mayor Kenney is expected to sign the bill and it would take effect four months later, to allow time for police department training on the new procedures.