FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2024
CONTACT: S.F. Public Defender’s Office | PDR-MediaRelations@sfgov.org
**PRESS RELEASE**
SF Coalition to End Biased Stops Celebrates ‘Pretext’ Stop Policy Going into Effect, Releases ‘Know Your Rights’ Guide
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coalition to End Biased Stops—which includes over 110 traffic safety and civil rights groups that advocated for restricting the San Francisco Police Department’s use of racially-biased pretext traffic stops—is celebrating that a new ‘pretext stop’ policy will be in effect tomorrow. The Coalition also released a Know Your Rights guide today to inform the public of the new policy. The guide is now available in English on the websites of the Coalition and the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and translated versions are forthcoming. A PDF version of the Know Your Rights guide is available for download via this link to the press release online.
Background
The San Francisco Police Commission, the independent oversight committee that sets policy and adjudicates misconduct matters for the San Francisco Police Department, voted in spring 2024 to adopt this new policy and gave SFPD 90 days to implement it. The Commission conducted extensive community outreach—including working groups with officers and community members, town halls, and officer-only meetings—and coordinated with SFPD leadership. The new policy limits when police can use certain traffic violations as the primary reason to conduct a stop, citing extensive data showing that these types of stops are often used as a “pretext” to conduct baseless searches.
Pretext stops disproportionately impact Black drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, who are more often targeted for non-moving or equipment violations. Pretext stops impose substantial fiscal and societal costs, but produce little, if any, public safety benefits. San Francisco mirrors the state and nation in over-policing communities of color via pretext stops, which often do not result in an actual traffic citation, but can escalate to police use-of-force and even deadly outcomes.
Quotes from the Coalition
“The primary goal of this policy has always been to keep people safe when they’re pulled over by police, which is vastly more dangerous for a person of color in San Francisco,” said Brian Cox, Deputy Public Defender and Director of the S.F. Public Defender Integrity Unit. “As advocates, it’s important for us to make sure that people know their rights and have the tools necessary to safely assert them.”
“This policy will help prevent police from needlessly stopping people under the guise of traffic enforcement. This is not only a discriminatory tactic that has disproportionately targeted People of Color, it’s dangerous. Time and time again Black and Brown people have been killed when these totally unnecessary encounters have escalated,” said Yoel Haile, director of the Criminal Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California.
“For too long, SFPD has disproportionately targeted and harmed people of color via pretext stops. That ends now. We will monitor the implementation of this policy by the SFPD and are prepared to take further action to ensure that racially-biased traffic stops never happen again in our city,” said Alison Goh, President of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco.
“GLIDE has long stood in solidarity with our clients who have been unfairly targeted by police and against the bias that motivates this type of racial profiling. This policy goes a long way toward ensuring that our clients—and all San Franciscans—are treated with respect and dignity. It is vital that accessible information gets out to the community, especially communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted, so they know their rights,” said Eleana Binder, Center for Social Justice Policy Manager for GLIDE.
“This policy is a crucial step in reaffirming that police powers must have clear boundaries. Without such limits, our constitutional and civil rights are jeopardized. By reinforcing civilian oversight of law enforcement, this policy aims to reduce racial disparities in traffic stops and ensure fairer treatment for all,” said Sameena Usman, Senior Government Relations Coordinator for Secure Justice.
“The data is clear: pretext stops have been an unmitigated failure. They are a massive waste of resources that do not result in arrests or discovery of contraband. This policy will allow us to reinvest our resources into strategies that actually keep us safe,” said Police Commission Vice President Max Carter-Oberstone.
“Pretext stops are racist, and I am heartened that the Police Commission has finally taken action to end this practice. Too many people of color have been harassed for too long with devastating consequences. No more,” said Paul Briley, Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children.
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Here is the Coalition’s ‘Know Your Rights’ brochure available to download: