Berkeley to Eliminate Traffic Cops

After hours of emotional testimony, city leaders in Berkeley, (pronounced Berserkley), voted to replace police with unarmed civilians for traffic stops to curtail racial profiling.  Janie Har of the Associated Press reports that a separate civilian-run department would be created by the city to enforce parking and traffic laws as part of the effort to cut the Police Department budget in half.

A tired but excited Mayor Jesse Arreguin said after the vote that taking police off of traffic stops was one of the ways the city was addressing the fact that communities of color in his city feel targeted by police.

“I think what Berkeley is doing is nuts,” a former LA traffic cop to reporters.  Traffic stops are among the most dangerous and unpredictable situations police officers encounter because hardened criminals are not typically predisposed to stopping at red lights, signaling for turns or keeping their car registration up to date.  The Oklahoma City Bomber was arrested during a traffic stop.  So far this year, nine U.S. police officers have been killed during traffic stops.  Perhaps the Mayor and the City Council members who voted for this change should volunteer some of their time to serve among  the city’s new civilian traffic monitors.