New law is intended to curb ‘pretext stops’

Starting Monday, police in California who stop a driver will have to explain the actual reason, unless it could endanger the officer — a law intended to restrict “pretext stops.”

Police who stop millions of drivers and pedestrians in the state each year have been allowed, until now, to give them a misleading explanation, or none at all. Officers in high-crime areas commonly look for minor traffic violations, like a broken taillight or an object hanging from a rear-view mirror, to pull a vehicle over so they can search it for drugs or other contraband, a practice that has a disproportionate impact on minorities.

Legislation to ban pretext stops of private motorists and bicyclists in California, SB50 by Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena (Los Angeles County), was approved by the state Senate in May but has stalled in the Assembly and will be taken up next year. Pretext stops have been banned in Berkeley and restricted in San Francisco and Los Angeles but remain legal elsewhere in the state.

The law that takes effect Jan. 1, AB2773 by Assembly Member Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, requires police to tell motorists the actual reason they are being stopped, unless the officer “reasonably believes that withholding the reason for the stop is necessary to protect life or property from imminent threat.”

It’s not clear who would decide whether an officer’s refusal to disclose the basis for a stop was reasonable; a state board has been considering regulations to require officers to tell their superiors, and the state, why they believed full disclosure would endanger them.

Still, the California Public Defenders Association told a legislative committee considering AB2773 that the measure would “increase transparency and public confidence in law enforcement. … Preserving civil rights is every bit as important as preserving public safety on our highways.”

Supporters also contended that restricting pretext stops would reduce racial disparities in traffic enforcement.

In opposition, the California State Sheriffs’ Association argued that “traffic stops can be among the most dangerous types of interactions that peace officers encounter” and they should remain free to take immediate action without first explaining their reasons.

The bill cleared both houses on divided votes in 2022 and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, to become law in 2024.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press Police who stop drivers and pedestrians in the state have been allowed, until now, to give them a misleading explanation or none at all.