Berkeley may be 1st U.S. city to propose eliminating police from traffic stops, enforcement

| July 11, 2020


City of Berkeley

Berkeley, of course. This should end well. Mason sends.

By Kate Larsen

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) — In the East Bay, in what’s believed to be a first in the nation proposal, the City of Berkeley has proposed ending police traffic enforcement.

Next week, Berkeley’s City Council will vote on a proposal to create a Department of Transportation and use employees in that department to make traffic stops instead of Berkeley Police officers.

“Most traffic stops don’t really warrant a police officer,” said Darrel Owens, the co-executive of East Bay for Everyone, a housing and traffic non-profit. He helped pitch the new, one-year plan to Berkeley City Council. He says ideally the city would take money away from Berkeley PD to fund the new department.

“A minor traffic violation should not have resulted in the murder of a black or brown body, but at the same time we can also re-examine the nature of punitive law enforcement and broken windows policing that makes traffic enforcement so deadly to begin with.”

Berkeley’s no stranger to radical ideas, but when it comes to this proposal, many people ABC7 spoke to in Downtown Berkeley were not necessarily ready for this new idea.

Read the rest here: ABC 7 News

As Mason rhetorically asked, “What could possibly go wrong?” The possibilities boggle the mine. Thanks, Mason.

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Democrats, Guest Link

36 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
5th/77th FA

Was this Larsie Boi’s idea? As a former Vet, former LEO, former CAO this should be right up his alley. Being a certifiable Major Moonbat won’t hurt his chances either.

As a former “Road Warrior” with literally millions of miles behind the wheel and a long time CCW license holder, I have had my fair share of traffic stops. Only 1 had a semi bad outcome (see comment on today’s FGS). Georgia has long had your CCW info tied to your DL. The po po know of the CCW BEFORE they approach your vehicle. Have been asked by the officers, “Where’s your weapon?” Ain’t got shot by an LEO yet. Is that my white privilege? Or would that be me not getting an attitude with the officer?

Just a quick statistical question for our ninjas. How many traffic stops have resulted in the apprehension of a very dangerous bad guy?

HMCS(FMF) ret

All they are doing is shifting money and creating another layer of bureaucracy… just like Der Commissar and his peep want.

Maybe Larsie is putting together his resume to be the Commissar of this newly created department… it’s been his dream to be a technocrat.

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

I got pulled over a couple of times. One was that I ran a stop sign going to work and 2 NYPD cars were across the street and I got flagged to pull over. I took the car key out, put it on the roof of the car and my hands on the wheel so first thing the Female Officer asks me is what Agency I work for so I explain that Their was a major accident on the road I use and didn’t want to be late for work and blew the sign.I showed her my Brink’s ID and gun permit and she says to just slow down and take it easy. I then asked her if she knew this guy and that guy who were cops and I guess I was talking too much and she just wanted to get rid of me. Another time when I was working nights, It was around 2 or 3 in the morning and I was doing maybe 10 miles over the speed limit heading for the Atlantic Beach Bridge to get into Long Beach when I spotted the Nassau County Police car but too late as the roof rack lights went on and got pulled over. Same deal as the car key goes to the car roof and both hands on the wheel. Again like at the other stop, he asks me whom I work for and sees the blue light on the dash. You a Volley he asks as I give him my Driver and Brink’s ID’s. I said that I am a member of the Long Beach VFD and he says that he is a member of the Inwood VFD. I told him I was coming home from work and was alert while driving so he says just slow it down. He was a Marine Viet-Nam Vet and Officer Daley was his name. I used to go every 2 weeks for deep tissue massage (legit) and my masseuse happened to mention that her dad was a County Cop and it turned out that she was his daughter. She tells… Read more »

2banana

It will be all fun and games until one of these politicians gets Tboned as folks ignore all traffic laws. Especially the illegals.

Then we will get “if it saves one life argument…”

NHSparky

Or a few of these milquetoast soi bois end up in a bloody heap on the sidewalk.

Nah, that’ll never happen, right?

A Proud Infidel®™️

More than a few of them have already gotten themselves beaten to a pulp and I’m sure that it’ll happen again, let’s not forget that they’ve only made a few ventures into Red State America where they got their asses handed to them!

George V

“Most traffic stops don’t really warrant a police officer,”…

Actually, a true statement. But, traffic stops, like many other occurrences in life, have exceptions where things don’t go as planned. A good plan handles exceptions. Ignoring exceptions, particularly deadly ones, is just…. dumb.

E4 Mafia '83-'87

Scene 1:
-Car speeds thru a red light. Dept of Transportation tries to make the vehicle stop.
-Driver refuses
-What’s next DOT?
-Nothing

Scene 2: P.O.S. Car backs out of parking into well maintained, safe vehicle. POS driver just keeps going. Who’s going to stop him/her? DOT?

They don’t have the authority to stop or detain unless you give them police powers, right? Are they going have flagmen and the guys that fix traffic signals “patrolling” the roads? No…its Thunderdome where those connected to city hall will be able to summon the police, but you fools that vote D time and time again will squat…again.

Why would the driver stop? Just keep on driving. No stop, no ticket. Many, many dangerous and wanted fugitives are apprehended for minor traffic offenses…but not anymore.

Result:
Who remembers watching a demoltion dery?

Top W Kone

My hometown has a “traffic division” than are not law enforcement officers but citation officers. Non-cops who deal with traffic control and violations. They can’t arrest you but only give a ticket. They won’t chase you but gladly call the police to do that.

They also cost less to the tax payor and free up police to respond to actual crimes.

If that is what they plan it’s a win for the tax payer

UpNorth

It’s a win, until the first “traffic law enforcer” gets shot or stomped by the felon who doesn’t want to go to jail and doesn’t know or care about the difference between a police officer and a “traffic law enforcer”.

Andy11M

Gonna get real messy when some unarmed DoT person stops some guy at 2 in the morning and they get shot as they approach the driver side door and they speed away.

The Other Whitey

And what will these “traffic enforcers” do when somebody just refuses to pull over? If they don’t have the authority of a peace officer, then nobody is actually obligated to stop for them. So then what? Will they call the PD? Alameda County SO? CHP? Or just let the violator go?

This organization will be toothless and will still need cops to actually enforce anything. At best they will be meter maids with delusions of grandeur.

Fucking idiot hippies…

Old tanker

This is another of those feel good ideas that lacks any semblance of real experience. There are two things a street cop does that are considered by those who actually do the job to be the most hazardous. They are traffic stops and family fights or the more PC term domestic disputes. One thing a cop learns real fast is you do NOT know who you are walking up to in that vehicle. Secondly if that person has bad intentions they WILL get the first shots off. Notice I said shots, not just one. Third you have absolutely zero cover.

The idea that the officer knows who is driving is bullshit. Cars get stolen all the time. Plates get stolen even more frequently. The registered owner does not always drive the vehicle. Given the plethora of tinted windows you do not even know the gender or “race” of the occupants (cars do hold more than one person) until you walk up. You do NOT have any idea of any ccw permit in the vehicle because they are not tied to the plates, only the drivers license and you do not get that until the driver hands it to you. Meaning you are in the drivers reach already.

Folks who have never done this really have no clue but lots of them will tell you things as if they were experts because they got stopped before or they imagine things making them knowledgeable in their own minds.

26Limabeans

The traffic stop is like opening a Pandoras Box.
I would not want the job at any price.

Yes sir, no sir, hands on the wheel.
You were stopped for a reason. Deal with it. In court.
Not by the side of road.

Anonymous

Like Chris Rock says:
https://youtu.be/uj0mtxXEGE8?t=111

Charles

Old Tanker is spot on … so is 26Limabeans.

I can show you stop after stop (dash cam videos) where the initial stop for running a red light or weaving in a lane led to “license, registration and proof of insurance please” followed by:

Outstanding warrants …

Drugs and guns in the car, in plain view and sometimes with a lit joint or in the process of rolling a fat one …

Children in the car (and, as disclosed by the driver’s license, the driver is a registered sex offender) …

The passenger is a wife/girlfriend:”Thank God you pulled him over officer, he was racing to take me home to beat the shit out of me because I talked to another guy at the party.”

And, of course, wait until the officer has left his car, walked up to the driver’s side window, then floor it. It’s a race to see if the cop can get back into his car and commence a pursuit before the driver is three streets away.

Pandora’s Box is an understatement.

If this ever goes into effect, Berkley automobile insurance rates will be unaffordable and compliance with traffic laws drops to near zero.

Sparks

^THIS!!!^

NHSparky

It’s CA. Insurance is already insanely expensive.

rgr769

I can’t wait until the first Bezerkely unarmed “traffic control” person is blown away by the driver he stopped for running a red light.

Dennis - not chevy

This has been tried before elsewhere, for example, the MA DMV had uniformed officers who wrote tickets, made stops, etc.
What this will lead to is another Gov’t agency with a chief, assistant chief, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and so forth. Tax payer money funding a solution searching for a problem.
The left won’t be happy until everyone has a rank and uniform.

Hack Stone

“A minor traffic violation should not have resulted in the murder of a black or brown body”. Nice to know that driving drunk to the point where you fall asleep/pass out is considered a minor violation. Have they checked with MADD on this? And just toss out the window all of those minor traffic violations that resulted in the apprehension of wanted felons. So what happens when one of these Department of Transportation employees encounters an armed fugitive?

Green Thumb

Yeah.

This will go over like a fart in church.

UpNorth

They checked with Biden, Hack, he said drunk driving wasn’t a serious crime.

A Proud Infidel®™️

Beatoff O’Rourke said the same

NHSparky

Unless he was, “drinking his lunch,” in which case he’s fair game.

Oh wait. He hadn’t been drinking.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/driver-in-biden-crash-wanted-name-cleared/#app

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

A number of LEO’s are getting killed doing traffic stops. I kept saying that LEO’S should do the fergusson effect and stay away from traffic stops slow down on gun runs and domestic disputes, this way you can go home to your family safe and sound especially when people of a different race or your own race are involved that you have to defend yourself using deadly force.

A Proud Infidel®™️

I’m sure it’s part of their plan to let that locality go to hell in a handbasket and then blame President Trump!

IDC SARC

“A minor traffic violation should not have resulted in the murder of a black or brown body,”

Thass raciss

Grab your popcorn kids…gonna be a lot of savage moments caught on camera shortly. How do these people not know the inevitable realities of human behavior?

11B-Mailclerk

Pass the right laws, put the right people in charge, and humans are completely perfectable.

-that- insane belief explains the repeated Donk fails and Marxist epic body counts.

Poetrooper

Ever notice how, when you point out that socialism and communism always fail, its current proponents make the excuse that it just wasn’t DONE RIGHT and this time, we’re gonna do it RIGHT?

Well, if the way they’re running the blue cities and states they now control is any indicator, all ol’ Poe can say is:

NOPE…ain’t gonna happen.

11B-Mailclerk

They would say “it all works if you would just obey your betters.”

A Proud Infidel®™️

I’m sure they’ll try to inflict it on Red State America and that’s when they’ll get a resounding “HELL NO, FUCK YOU!!!” in return!

Berliner

The majority of the Seattle city clowncil have enough votes to totally defund the city police (their stated goal) and override any vetoes. Should that happen expect lines at gun stores outside* the city to look like the lines when legal marijuana stores first opened.

I predict calls to 911 will then get a pair of social justice warriors clutching their pearls and wielding foam pool noodles for self defense.

*There are very few gun stores remaining in Seattle since they enacted a tax of $25 per firearm and .02 each for .22 and .05 each for all other caliber rounds. On 1 July 2020, the same tax went into effect for Tacoma, the 3rd largest city in the state. Many stores relocated in anticipation.

penguinman000

At this point I’m all for these morons destroying their own cities. Their efforts are driving people of all melanin content toward a conservative mindset.

NHSparky
USMCMSgt (Ret)

It’s doubtful DOT would attempt to make any traffic stop. They’ll probably just take pictures of license plates and send the ticket in the mail.

It will become a money making scheme: People will start getting traffic tickets in the mail for traffic offenses they never committed – just an arbitrary photo of their license plate taken while driving down the road…