20-04-2025
We asked Fresno police chief about traffic stops and race. Here's what she said
Police disproportionately stop Fresno commuters who are people of color for reasons based on administrative or equipment violations rather than unsafe driving — a practice critics say is outdated.
Advocates say it's a misuse of public money and a burden on communities of color.
Law enforcement officials say making pretextual stops is an important tool in policing and ensuring public safety.
Fresno's Black drivers are stopped for non-moving or administrative issues two times more often than white drivers based on the number of stops per 1,000 residents, according to data produced annually from the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015.
Hispanic drivers make up 53% of Fresno police stops, which is higher than the number of people in the community. Fresno is half Latino, according to the U.S. Census.
Non-moving violations could include having illegally tinted windows or a bumper in need of repairs. Administrative violations, for example, include an expired registration.
That kind of violation can also be the reason for 'pre-text stop,' when an officer stops a commuter for one of those less serious violations but actually wants to investigate the driver further.
Critics argue non-moving and administrative stops are used in a discriminatory way, noting people of color are stopped at higher rates per capita. The stops are a common police practice that has come under scrutiny in some larger cities in recent years.
The most common traffic stop at 43% in Fresno is related to unsafe speed, a moving violation, according to the latest data.
Chief Mindy Casto argues Fresno police rarely use pre-text stops and are more likely to make an investigatory stop because officers have a reason to believe the car is connected to a crime.
'They're actually pulling the car over because they have a reasonable suspicion to detain for an important investigation,' she said. 'We've got a lot of proactive units in the city.'
Casto said she sees the imbalance in who gets stopped as a reflection of the areas of the city that have more crime, and are more likely to see officers patrolling. She also said that officers pulling over a driver most often do not know the racial background of the driver until after they've made the stop.
The RIPA data is based on the perception of the officers, and not necessarily based on how the residents describe themselves.
'I challenge you, when you're driving around tonight, particularly (if) you're behind a car, you don't know who's driving it,' Casto said. 'You pull the car over, then the RIPA data is based on your observations after the stop, not before the stop.'
Critics also note the disruption on drivers of color can have greater effects, which can be seen as harassment.
The average duration of a stop was 15.3 minutes, the report notes. White pedestrians and drivers averaged slightly shorter stops at 14.95 minutes, while Black residents waited 20.75 minutes and Hispanic residents waited 18.8 minutes.
'Interacting with a police officer could escalate to arrest warrants, use of force, profiling, all of that,' said Myanna Khalfani-King, an attorney and manager of Equity in Community Investments with Catalyst California.
San Diego-based nonprofit Catalyst California teamed up with Building Healthy Communities in Fresno for a report released in February using RIPA data. They say Fresno police should emphasize stops directly related to moving violations.
'What we see now is the historic practice and policies of the police have not done anything to really help build this feeling of safety or feeling of community,' she said.
It's not unheard of for municipalities to outlaw pre-text stops and require police to conduct traffic stops only for moving violations or when immediately related to public safety, which could include when police have a warrant for someone's arrest.
Washington state's constitution outlaws using stops for minor traffic violations to look for other crimes, and San Francisco outlawed pre-text stops last year.
Khalfani-King said ideally the city of Fresno would change policy to have someone other than a sworn police officer who would issue tickets for expired tags, tinted windows and other less serious violations.
The Catalyst California report argues the traffic stops are also a waste of money in a city where the police budget is $288 million.
There is a segment of Fresno's population who don't feel better when they see an officer. Carmen Galvez, 40, said she's afraid when she sees a patrol car in her rear-view mirror or on the street.
The resident of Fresno for about two decades said her children are even more scared.
'My kids tell me, 'Don't trust the cops,' ' she said in Spanish. 'Many times the police don't believe what you say.'
She said she has had run-ins with police that did not end in her getting into trouble, but the interaction induced fear.
There's the time she kept driving straight ahead and drove across town because she was afraid the officer behind her was looking for a reason to pull her over, or another interaction when an officer stopped her to ask her if she had been drinking while she was sober and headed to pick up a friend for their night shift at a packing plant.
Critics of the police say that kind of unpleasant interaction with an officer could be reduced if cops were not making traffic stops over administrative or non-moving violations.
Casto said officers use administrative and non-moving violations when they need to in proactive policing, and the Fresno Police Department tries to build community through engagement.
She pointed to the decrease in homicide and shootings in recent years in Fresno, saying proactive policing plays a part.
In Fresno, there were 30 intentional homicides in 2024, down from 35 the previous year. It was also a significant fall from the gruesome high of 74 in each of 2021 and 2020, according to Fresno Police Department figures. The crime has decreased nationally at the same rate.
Casto said she also believes the majority of Fresno residents want proactive policing.
'Proactive policing absolutely makes an impact on violent crime,' she said. 'Part of proactive policing is traffic stops of any variety.'
