End Costly and Humiliating Arrests for Traffic Tickets

  • by: Just Liberty
  • recipient: Texas Senators and Representatives
The last time you were pulled over by a police officer, did you feel nervous for just a moment? Most of us do. Then we breathe a sigh of relief as we drive away.

But thousands of Texans each year don't get to drive away. Instead of getting a ticket, they are pulled from their cars, arrested and then booked into jail on that same traffic charge, even though jail is not an allowable punishment for a traffic violation.

These arrests take up officer time, jail time, and your time with no public safety benefit. You still just get a ticket.

For some police departments, every traffic stop is an opportunity to investigate the driver for criminal activity. An officer will start to ask personal questions about your destination, your job or your family. The officer might ask if he can search the car or instead might just arrest you for that traffic violation and conduct a search 'incident to arrest." Finding nothing, the officer takes you to jail for the original traffic charge. It's outrageous and all of it is perfectly legal.

Sometimes, drivers think their rights are being violated and resist, making that traffic stop more dangerous for both the officer and the driver.

Let's return traffic stops to their original function – enforcing the traffic laws.

Sign and send a message to your Texas Representative and Senator asking them to co-author HB 567 or SB 271 to end the arrest of drivers for traffic violations.
Dear Decisionmaker,

Drivers should not be arrested on minor traffic charges. Jail is not an authorized punishment for failure to signal a lane change or running a stop sign. For these kinds of things, we should be handed a ticket and sent on our way.

Arrest might mean we don't show up for work, or can't pick up our kids, or leave elderly parents without a caretaker. As we are suddenly faced with the reality that we might not get to our destination, all over a minor violation that should be handled with a ticket, we naturally think…"You can't do this!"

Suddenly, an ordinary traffic stop can escalate into an encounter that is more dangerous for both the officer and the driver. Breaion King, an Austin school teacher, was pulled over for speeding and then body slammed to the pavement when she didn't comply quickly enough. Sandra Bland was arrested and booked on a traffic violation and ended up dead in the county jail. Most Texans stopped for a traffic ticket simply don't believe it can be true that the officer can arrest them for that, and respond in a wide variety of ways.

You can restore peace and liberty to Texas traffic stops by ending the unjust arrest of drivers on minor offenses. HB 567 and SB 271 have been filed in the Texas Legislature to address this question. I hope you'll support these bills by signing on as a coauthor and helping persuade your colleagues to back them. Thank you for everything you can do to support this measure.

[Your Comment]

Thank you,

[Your Name]
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