Missouri House committee to hold hearings on racial profiling in police traffic stops
After a recent state report showed that, more than ever, black drivers in Missouri are more likely than whites to be pulled over by police, a Missouri House special committee will hold public hearings on the issue in Kansas City and St. Louis County.
State Rep. Shamed Dogan, a St. Louis County Republican who chairs the committee, said in a written statement Monday that the Special Committee on Criminal Justice will hold hearings on racial profiling and civil forfeiture.
The hearings are scheduled for July 24 in St. Louis County and August 1 in Kansas City.
The 2018 Vehicle Stops Report, which was released in May by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, showed that black drivers were 91% more likely than white motorists to be pulled over by police. That is the largest racial disparity in vehicle stops in Missouri history.
The gap has been widening since 2015, when it was 70 percent. Citing the annual report as evidence that people of color might not have their rights respected in Missouri, the NAACP in 2017 for the first time issued a travel advisory labeling a state dangerous.
The first public hearing will be at 9 a.m. July 24 at the St. Louis County Council chambers, 41 S. Central Ave., Clayton, Missouri.
The second hearing will be at 9 a.m. Aug. 1 at the Robert J. Mohart Multi-Purpose Center, 3200 Wayne Ave., Kansas City.
The committee will also examine the report by Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway that showed $9.1 million in cash and property was seized through the use of civil asset forfeiture in 2018, compared to $7.1 million in 2017.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Constitution limits state and local governments’ abilities to take and keep cash, cars, houses and other private property suspected of being connected to crimes. Critics have labeled the practice, called civil asset forfeiture, as “policing for profit.”
“The numbers released by Attorney General Schmitt and Auditor Galloway are concerning and a true call to action for our committee and our legislature,” Dogan said in a statement Monday. “It’s imperative that we seek solutions to help better protect Missourians’ 4th Amendment rights while also upholding law enforcement’s responsibility to protect public safety.”
The hearings seek input from law enforcement, community leaders, prosecutors, elected officials and members of the public.
The Special Committee on Criminal Justice was formed during the 2019 legislative session to seek ways to reform the state’s criminal justice system.
Star reporting intern Edward McKinley contributed to this report.
