A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges Chicago police targeted Black and Latino Chicagoans with a massive campaign of traffic stops over the past six years.
Read More: Black Chicagoans 9 Times More Likely to Be Stopped by Chicago Police: Federal Court Monitor
Approximately 70% of the vehicles that police officers searched during traffic stops between 2016 and 2022 were driven by Black Chicagoans, who make up less than 30% of Chicago’s population. Less than 5% of cars driven by White Chicagoans were searched by officers after being stopped, according to city data cited by the lawsuit.
Officers found drugs in just 0.3% of the traffic stops conducted between 2016 and 2022 and weapons in just 0.05% of traffic stops, according to city data cited in the lawsuit. “Not only do these discriminatory traffic stops, frisks and searches cause people of color in Chicago to suffer fear, terror and embarrassment, as well as physical harm when stops escalate to violence, the mass traffic stop program decreases public safety by hindering community cooperation that is essential for effective crime prevention and investigation, and it diverts police resources away from critical public safety needs such as responding to 911 calls and completing criminal...
In addition, the lawsuit claims police officials failed to report tens of thousands of traffic stops as required to the Illinois Department of Transportation, and failed to properly train and supervise officers to comply with departmental policy during and regarding traffic stops. In addition, Bell was pulled over by officers three times within a four-day period in March, according to the lawsuit.
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