The Houston Police Department has eliminated a policy that required officers to initiate at least one traffic stop per day.
The Houston City Council passed an ordinance Wednesday to eliminate traffic stop quotas, which Council Member Edward Pollard called “a win for the community.”
Pollard emphasized that dropping the traffic stop quotas would enhance safety for both the public and officers.
“Currently, under state law, there is a statute that already bars quotas for ticketing, but there’s nothing that bars quotas for stops. What we’ve found is, in the past, there have been policy within HPD that requires officers to make at least one stop per shift,” said Pollard.
According to Pollard, the previous quota caused an uptick in police stops over the past years.
“We’ve seen by the numbers that there has been a disproportionate number of black and brown individuals that have been stopped, and there has also been an increase in officer-involved incidents,” said Pollard.
Mayor John Whitmire noted the quota was created under a previous administration.
“Thank you for putting it in an ordinance form, but it has not been a practice of HPD since the new administration and the new police chief,” Whitmire said.
Several council members shared personal experiences during the meeting. Council Member Tarsha Jackson recounted being arrested at age 24 in front of her child’s daycare center at 11 p.m. for allegedly rolling through a stop sign.
“I was treated like a number, a target, and a threat,” Jackson said.
Council Member Julian Ramirez, drawing from his experience teaching at the Police Academy, warned about the constitutional implications of quota policies.
“As someone who has taught hundreds of cadets at the Police Academy on search and seizure, I can tell you that this kind of policy that requires a minimum number of stops per shift invites Fourth Amendment violations and can lead to unnecessary uses of force,” Ramirez said.
Pollard acknowledged the role of community advocates and the Houston Police Officers Union in bringing about the change, noting that their discussions about traffic stop quotas led to the ordinance.
He also received a letter of support from Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz.
