Pretext Stop Ban

Police officers in the United States conduct more than 20 million traffic stops each year. Every one of these encounters carries the potential for escalation, and in some cases, tragedy. That risk is especially pronounced for people of color, who are stopped and subjected to force at disproportionately high rates. One particularly problematic category of stops that are unnecessary and ripe for abuse is pretext stops, where an officer pulls someone over for any number of minor traffic infractions as a false justification to engage in a criminal law investigation.

S. 9840 / A. 6631 ends the use of pretext stops in New York by creating a category of non-safety related infractions that cannot serve as the sole basis for stopping a vehicle. It also prohibits stops based on warrants for low-level offenses, such as failure to pay a fine or fee or failure to appear in court for a noncriminal matter.