Queens City Council member Donovan Richards is reportedly sponsoring a bill requiring NYPD officers to collect data on the race of people they pull over during traffic stops.
The bill is the latest attempt to combat the longtime issue of “driving while Black,” the practice of racial profiling of African American drivers because of racial bias. Donavon says that he has support from the community. However, law enforcement officials say that in order to get that information, they would have to ask the drivers their ethnicity.
A study by the Justice Department indicates that Black drivers are 31 percent more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. African Americans are also more likely to be searched after a stop than white drivers, but less likely to be found with drugs, guns, alcohol or other forms of contraband.