SAN DIEGO — Black drivers stopped for low-level traffic violations in San Diego were more than four times as likely as white drivers to be frisked and more than three times as likely to be subjected to force, according to an analysis presented by the city’s police oversight commission, which is recommending broad restrictions on so-called pretext stops.

At a community forum last weekend, the San Diego Commission on Police Practices unveiled four draft policy recommendations aimed at limiting officers’ ability to use minor equipment and administrative violations — such as broken tail lights, expired registration tags or objects hanging from rearview mirrors — as a basis for investigating unrelated suspected crimes.

Commission Chair Ada Rodriguez said pretext stops give officers broad discretion while offering limited demonstrated safety benefits — and can escalate routine encounters into traumatic or even deadly ones.

“Most stops do not result in weapons recovery or serious arrests,” she said. “High volumes of these stops deliver a low public safety return while producing persistent racial disparities; key gaps are fairness, respect, accountability and community partnership.”

Aaron Burgess, the commission’s policy director, said the request to draw up policy recommendations for pretext stops came from the community and the commission staff’s analysis of local stop data.

Burgess said the recommendations will be revised based on community input before returning to the full commission for a vote.

If approved, they would be forwarded to the San Diego Police Department, which would have 60 days to respond.

“What we’re hearing in our case review process is that folks are saying they’re being stopped inappropriately based on protected characteristics, such as race, religion, age, cultural group, gender expression, disability or housing status,” Burgess said.

A central part of the commission’s analysis focused on data collected under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act, or RIPA, which requires law enforcement officers to document demographic information, reasons for stops, actions taken during those encounters and their outcomes.

Commission investigator Ethan Waterman presented a review of SDPD’s 2024 stop data, the most recent available.

According to Waterman, the department reported 103,463 stops in 2024, including about 24,000 traffic stops involving equipment violations and other non-moving infractions.

Within the low-level stop category, the commission identified significant racial disparities.

People who officers perceived as Black were 4.42 times more likely than people perceived as white to be frisked. They were also 3.36 times more likely to be asked for consent to search their property, 3.24 times more likely to have force used against them and 3.31 times more likely to be handcuffed.

Black drivers also were more likely to have their parole status questioned and to be detained at curbside or in patrol cars.

The commission found similar disparities affecting people perceived to be Hispanic or Latino, though generally at lower levels than those affecting Black drivers.

Waterman also highlighted the results of consent searches conducted during low-level traffic stops.

During equipment and administrative stops, officers requested permission to search a person’s property or vehicle 1,063 times in 2024, according to the analysis. Those searches led to the discovery of contraband or evidence only 123 times, for a rate of about 11.6%.

By comparison, SDPD recovered contraband or evidence in roughly 23% of searches overall that year.

“What this means is that the consent searches in low-level traffic stops were particularly unsuccessful,” Waterman said. “They were 50% less likely to recover evidence or contraband than standard searches.”

In a statement to The San Diego Union-Tribune, police spokesperson Lt. Cesar Jimenez described pretextual stops as “a valuable investigative tool that helps officers identify criminal activity, develop leads, and recover illegal weapons, drugs and other contraband.”

Limiting them would make it harder for police “to proactively address public safety concerns and could make it more difficult to detect criminal activity before it leads to more serious crimes,” he said.

He added that the department knows the stops are a concern to some communities, “and we look forward to discussing the Commission on Police Practices’ recommendations and continuing that dialogue.”

The commission’s recommendations focus on four broad policy areas: limiting stops for low-level equipment and administrative violations, requiring documented justification when officers expand investigations beyond the original reason for a stop, restricting consent searches and strengthening anti-bias policing policies.

Under the proposal, officers generally would not stop drivers solely for certain minor violations, like a single broken taillight, minor license-plate illumination problems, expired registration of less than one year, objects hanging from rearview mirrors and some bumper and equipment violations.

Rodriguez pointed to several local cases that commissioners say illustrate how routine traffic stops can escalate into serious consequences.

Among them was the fatal police shooting of Christopher DeArman, who was stopped for a broken taillight before the encounter turned deadly.

She also cited the case of Nicholas Hoskins, who was stopped for allegedly failing to make a full stop at a stop sign.

When an officer demanded Hoskins exit his car for a search, he refused, arguing police lacked probable cause. An officer shattered Hoskins’ passenger-side window. Hoskins filed a lawsuit alleging officers violated his constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure and won a $25,000 settlement last year.

Other examples included Columbus White, who was handcuffed during a traffic stop after officers mistakenly believed he was subject to a Fourth Amendment waiver that allows him to be stopped and searched at any time.

They also included Abdul Kadir Fataw, whose lawsuit alleged a minor stop resulted in verbal abuse, loss of work and lasting trauma.

“What began as a traffic contact became a contested use-of-force and legal matter,” Rodriguez said of the Hoskins case. “Routine stops can produce serious legal and personal consequences.”

Multiple people who spoke during public comments at the recent meeting urged the commission to push for systemic reforms, arguing that pretext stops disproportionately affect Black and Latino communities and undermine trust in law enforcement.

Nikhil Plettner Booker, founder and executive director of Youth to End Solitary SD, cited research suggesting the pretext stops rarely uncover contraband and argued that restrictions adopted elsewhere have reduced unnecessary police contacts without leading to a jump in crime.

Several speakers questioned whether recommendations alone would result in meaningful change, noting that studies documenting racial disparities in policing have circulated for years.

Others raised concerns about surveillance technology, qualified immunity and what they described as broader patterns of overpolicing in marginalized communities.

Not everyone supported the proposed restrictions.

Greg Daunoras, a former member of the Community Review Board, the commission’s predecessor, argued that traffic enforcement remains an important public safety tool and warned against preventing officers from stopping vehicles with broken lights and other equipment violations.

“No one likes being stopped,” DeMorest said, but he argued that equipment laws exist for legitimate safety reasons and should keep being enforced.

Some commissioners also voiced concerns about eliminating low-level stops.

One commissioner questioned whether the low rate of contraband discoveries justified limiting a policing tool that can occasionally lead to the recovery of weapons or evidence and the apprehension of dangerous suspects.

Another cited the arrest of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh following a traffic stop involving a missing license plate as an example of how seemingly minor violations can lead to significant criminal cases.

The commission’s policy committee will now review public testimony and consider revisions before presenting a final proposal to the full commission.

If approved, the recommendations will be forwarded to the San Diego Police Department for formal review and response.

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