Detroit police oversight board members hoping to limit minor traffic stops after a series of police shootings that started with issues including alleged license plate and tinted window violations can look to the experiences of at least three Michigan jurisdictions that have restricted such stops in recent years.
“Driving equality”-style ordinances and policies in Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor and East Lansing have aimed to prevent racial profiling and reduce citizen contacts with police by barring some stops for low-level equipment violations and expired registration stickers.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office has seen a 70% reduction in such stops since implementing restrictions in January, part of a 50% decline in overall traffic stops, according to information provided by Sheriff Alyshia Dyer comparing the first 10 months of this year to the same period in 2024. Police uses of force in the county, meanwhile, dropped 13% and aggravated assaults involving officers dropped 54% as crime continued a post-pandemic decline observed throughout the country, she said…