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City Council Delays Vote On Banning Traffic Stops For Secondary Offenses

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh city council is delaying a vote on whether to ban traffic stops for secondary offenses.

If the legislation passes, it would prevent Pittsburgh police officers from stopping people for minor things like driving a car without an official certificate of inspection, a loose license plate or tinted windows.

"African Americans are three times more likely to be stopped by police than other brothers and sisters, and that creates a chilling effect in the African American community," City Councilman Ricky Burgess said when he introduced the legislation in November.

Burgess said the only way a driver would get a ticket for a secondary offense is if they're stopped by police for a primary offense. However, the secondary offense can't be the primary reason they're being stopped.

Councilmembers decided to recommit the bill on Monday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, which would push a final vote to next week at the earliest.

Councilman Anthony Coghill said members needed to make sure they were comfortable moving forward without a public hearing or additional fact-finding meeting, the Post-Gazette reported. Last week, the P-G reported Coghill said the bill could make it hard to make sure vehicles are safe and cut off access for police to find other violations like drug trafficking.

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