Criminals opened fire on at least 134 police officers during routine traffic stops from 2021 through 2023, federal data show. Now, an equity commission convened by the Biden-Harris administration wants to spend $20 million on a pilot program that would deploy unarmed cops to conduct traffic enforcement.
The Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity, an Obama-era body revived by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last year, said in a report released this month that cops don’t need to carry guns or tasers with them when out on the streets enforcing traffic laws. The commission, whose membership includes an activist who once said cars perpetuate "systemic racism," urged the federal government to spend $20 million developing a pilot program to "test the use of non-lethal, perhaps non-police traffic enforcement."
"Citing a driver for having a broken taillight, forgetting to use a turn signal, or even failing to stop at a stop sign, does not require the use of a gun, taser, or similar tool," the commission said.
The data suggest otherwise. In fact, traffic stops are one of the most dangerous aspects of a police officer’s job, according to Justice Department statistics.
Routine traffic stops have been the third-deadliest out of 11 commonly performed police activities since the start of the Biden-Harris administration in January 2021, according to annual reports compiled by the Justice Department. At least 134 police officers have been shot at during traffic stops during the Biden-Harris administration, 23 of whom lost their lives.
The commission’s recommendation to the Biden-Harris administration to disarm traffic cops could cause headaches for Vice President Kamala Harris, who in 2020 praised the "defund the police" movement but is now presenting herself to voters as a tough-on-crime former prosecutor. The Transportation Department did not return a request for comment.
The Justice Department reports detail how attacks on police officers during traffic stops can come out of nowhere. In one 2023 incident, for example, officers came under fire after stopping to assist a disabled motorist.
"The driver then opened fire, striking an officer," the Justice Department report stated. "Officers returned fire, striking the suspect. The suspect fled the scene in the officer’s vehicle but eventually crashed and died because of their injuries."
Similar stories abound. On July 3, a DUI suspect opened fire on two officers with the Los Angeles Police Department with a fully automatic rifle before fleeing the scene. The officers survived, with one suffering graze wounds to his head. The suspect was arrested less than two weeks later.
Florida police officer Joseph Bullock wasn’t so lucky. A 19-year veteran trooper, Bullock pulled over to help someone who he thought was having car troubles in February 2020 when that person "shot him, resulting in fatal injuries." Another police officer who was passing by the scene later killed the suspect, Tribune Media reported.
The Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity did not mention the inherent danger posed to police officers during traffic stops in its report. Instead, the commission highlighted a 2021 New York Times report that found police officers killed over 400 individuals during a five-year period. The Times report noted most of those killings were found to be legally justified.
"Considering the violence police have committed at traffic stops, especially on Black and Brown individuals, it is clear alternatives to this approach are necessary to ensure the safety of our streets," the commission’s report said.
The Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity was first activated during the Obama administration but was shuttered during the Trump administration. Buttigieg revived the commission in August 2023 at the behest of 15 Democratic senators, including vulnerable swing state Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) in November 2021.
"We believe that permanently reinstating the Committee would align with the Biden Administration’s commitment to integrating equity throughout the President’s Build Back Better agenda," Casey and his fellow senators wrote in a letter to Buttigieg. "We also believe that the Committee would help recognize and address the impact of our transportation infrastructure on climate change, health, housing, disability rights, environmental justice, safety, and other issues through meaningful collaboration."