MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As a part of the push for police reform following the death of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to end low-level traffic stops.
The City Council voted 10-0 on the ordinance ending pretextual stops. The ordinance is also known as the Driver Equality Act.
"I’ve had an officer pull me over, get my driver’s license and my insurance and then tip-toe backward to his car as if I was dangerous or if he was watching to make sure I didn’t do something dangerous to him," said Joshua Adams, an activist with Decarcerate Memphis. "I’m worried about my life.”
The ordinance reclassifies pretextual traffic stops, like a broken tail light or expired tags, so they cannot be used by police as the sole reason for pulling drivers over.
“Pretext is dangerous, and it also is disproportionally, pretext is disproportionally used, against African Americans," Adams said. “You can’t train the pretext out of officers. We simply want to end those interactions altogether.”
Council has decided to hold off any action indefinitely on the “2023 Comprehensive Justice in Policing Ordinance”, formerly known as the “Tyre Nichols Justice in Policing Ordinance”.
"When you’re dealing with justice it’s not a magic bullet," Councilman Smiley said. There’s no one particular legislation that solves or addresses all of the issues.”
The ordinance would have outlined guidelines for police traffic stops and interactions with traffic violators. It also details policy for use of force with non-compliant individuals, requires MPD to report every 6 months and make traffic data public, and requires an independent review of the department's training program.
In a statement councilman Smiley also said; “In the interest of clarity, Council believes it is in the best interest to allow previous ordinances on criminal justice reform advocated for by Councilmembers and constituency groups to stand alone. We appreciate those members who helped amend the 2023 Comprehensive Justice in Policing Ordinance. We appreciate your time and attention to detail in this matter, however later today I will make a motion to table indefinitely the 2023 Comprehensive Justice in Policing Ordinance. Peace and blessings.”
Detractors, like Decarcerate Memphis, took issue with what they said “Codifies policy of the MPD handbook. The same policies that resulted in the murder of Tyre Nichols at the hands of MPD.”
But they say the "Driving Equality Act” that passed council Tuesday is a win.