Los Angeles officials are moving to restrict routine police traffic stops after a city report found roughly 86 percent of people pulled over during basic stops were black or Hispanic.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously last week to push the LAPD toward avoiding so-called “pretextual” stops.
The unanimous vote urged the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners to ban or heavily restrict stops over minor violations, according to reports from KTLA and the Los Angeles Times.
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The stops involve issues such as expired registration tags, broken taillights, cracked windshields, illegal tint, loud exhaust systems, busted mirrors, or missing license plates.
🚨RIGHT NOW: The Woke LA City Council just passed a landmark motion (14-0) to ban police from making traffic stops—becoming the first legislative body in the U.S. to take such a dangerous step. Human, child-sex & narcotics trafficking & drive-by shootings will skyrocket. pic.twitter.com/VBM8xw3Emv
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) May 7, 2026
Supporters of the proposal argued that pulling people over for breaking traffic laws disproportionately impacted black and Hispanic residents in Los Angeles.
Despite the vote, the proposal has not yet become official LAPD policy, and it is not clear if it will be adopted.
The Board of Police Commissioners still controls LAPD policy and will ultimately decide whether the race-driven recommendations can move forward.
KTLA reported that the proposed policy would generally prevent officers from making traffic stops unless there is an immediate public safety threat.
According to a report from the Los Angeles Chief Legislative Analyst’s Office, LAPD officers conducted more than 72,000 pretextual stops between April 2022 and September 2025.
The report found roughly 30 percent of those stops uncovered evidence tied to another offense, including those that ended in arrests for drugs or weapons.
The same report found that approximately 86 percent of those stopped were non-white.
No evidence that was cited in the report found that officers were randomly targeting drivers without cause.
LA City Council just told LAPD they can’t pull anyone over anymore for expired tags, dead tail lights, cracked windshields, busted mirrors, illegal tint, loud exhaust, or missing plates.
Why? Because out of 72,000 stops in three years, 86% were Black or Latino drivers.
So if…
— Dan Burmawi (@DanBurmawy) May 12, 2026
At an event last week before the council vote, a left-wing activist named Leslie Johnson accused the LAPD of prejudice.
“The reality for Black and brown Angelenos is that going about our everyday life can turn into a life-or-death situation when police officers choose whom they will pursue, harass and harm, based on the color of our skin, our accents, or our zip codes,” Johnson said.
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