On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission, as required by law every ten years to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. Here, in a series of posts, I am presenting my own suggestions.
Prohibition of Pretext Stops
A peace officer may not stop, or otherwise detain, an operator of a vehicle to enforce any nonmoving violation as a primary offense (except violations where a vehicle does not have a valid license plate; or where a vehicle has equipment failure that poses an immediate, serious threat to the safety of the operator or others on the roadway).
Upon first contact with the operator of the vehicle, the peace officer must inform the operator of the reason for the stop, and may not request a consent search of the operator, any passengers, or the vehicle. The peace officer may not question the operator or any passenger of the vehicle on a subject other than the equipment violation that initiated the stop.
Source: Mark Steger.
This charter amendment is inspired by this blog post: "Police Beat". I won't repeat here the problems that arise from police using pretext stops. Read it for yourselves. You should also read news stories of how cities and states have begun reacting to tragic incidents by prohibiting pretext stops by police in their jurisdictions.
Reform could be accomplished administratively by Richardson Police Chief Gary L. Tittle changing department policy, but I don't see that happening. Or reform could be accomplished top down by City Manager Don Magner, but I don't see that happening. Or reform could be accomplished by ordinance passed by the City Council, but I don't see that happening, either. That leaves it up to the voters of the City to enshrine protections into our City Charter, provided they are given the opportunity to vote on it. So, the Charter Review Commission should recommend just that. Let the voters decide.
Our country's own Constitution contains citizen protections against overreach by government. It's called the Bill of Rights. I haven't researched this, but offhand I can't think of similar protections for citizens built into our Richardson City Charter. Why not? It's time for us to start a Bill of Rights for our own City Charter.
"As pretext stops fade,
Transparency takes their place.
Bridges mend, trust heals."
—h/t ChatGPT
See also:
Council Recap: Charter Review Commission
City Charter: Single-Member Districts
City Charter: Initiative and Referendum
City Charter: Video Record of City Council Meetings
City Charter: Transparent Appointment of Boards and Commissions
Charter Review: Sneak Preview of Changes
Charter Review: Ending Pretext Stops
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