MN Cops Blast Hennepin County's New Traffic Stop Policy As A Free Pass For Criminals

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is implementing a new strategy that will overhaul how it prosecutes cases arising from non-public safety traffic stops, also known as "pretext stops."

The Non-Public Safety Traffic Stop Policy is scheduled to take effect Oct. 15, following a comment period for system and community feedback.

The policy means that, absent exceptional public safety concerns, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will no longer prosecute cases initiated by traffic stops tied to minor equipment or registration violations that do not present an immediate danger.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the change is aimed at reducing racial disparities, aligning with federal and state consent decrees, and focusing limited prosecutorial resources on genuinely dangerous driving behaviors.

"Non-public-safety traffic stops do not protect public safety, and they actively harm our community, particularly our Black and Brown community members," Moriarty said.

"Speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence, and blowing through stop signs threatens public safety and kills Minnesotans. We will continue to prosecute felony cases resulting from dangerous driving behavior."

The county attorney’s office points to data showing that pretext stops rarely result in serious arrests or contraband seizures.

For example, Minneapolis police data from 2017 and 2018 showed that firearms were recovered in less than 0.5 percent of equipment or minor moving violation stops.

But Minnesota’s largest police organization is blasting the change.

"The city of Minneapolis is under siege with violent crime—and this is what County Attorney Moriarty chooses to prioritize? Her new policy is a gift to criminals and a slap in the face to law-abiding Minnesotans," Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association General Counsel Imran Ali said in a statement.

"Guns, drugs, and fugitives discovered during traffic stops will now walk free, while officers are left powerless to act. This reckless decision doesn’t just weaken law enforcement—it puts every family in greater danger."

The county attorney’s office argues that similar policies in places like Ramsey County and Fayetteville, North Carolina, have reduced racial disparities and improved safety outcomes without reducing the number of dangerous drivers or firearms taken off the street.