The president of the Los Angeles City Council nearly broke down while describing a police traffic stop he claimed was racially motivated — only for cops to reveal the real reason for pulling him over.
City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is black, suggested last week at a council meeting that he was targeted by LAPD officers due to his race.
The meeting had been focused on pretextual traffic stops, in which cops pull drivers over for minor traffic infractions in order to investigate separate, more serious crimes they suspect. The stops are legal under federal law but often criticized for being used in racial profiling.
In his testimony, Harris-Dawson said such stops are racially biased and “traumatic” for those who have experienced them, including himself.
“In Los Angeles, every single time data is collected on pretextual traffic stops, they are grossly racially biased,” he said, adding that 85% of such stops in LA are of “black and brown” drivers.
Harris-Dawson then described being pulled over recently, including a traffic stop that same week.
He suggested he was pulled over without reason, and that the officers asked questions about his role as president.
“The first question was, roll down your windows. The second question was, how do you have this vehicle? The third question was, well, you work for the city. What job do you do for the city?,” Harris-Dawson said.
“In fact, I’m the president of the council,” he added. “I had to explain this on the corner of Main and 25th Street, while I was trying to get to the committee just two days ago.”
The council president then took an emotional pause before continuing. “It was traumatic on Wednesday as when I was 16,” he said.
An LAPD spokesperson, however, revealed that officers had different motives for stopping Harris-Dawson.
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“During our morning school drop-off, a Los Angeles School Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop based on an observed moving traffic violation in the vicinity of one of our high schools and issued the driver a citation,” the spokesman said.
That didn’t stop Harris-Dawson from detailing his “traumatic” experience on social media.
“As a Member of the Council, driving in a government-issued vehicle with an E-plate, I have been stopped four times,” he wrote in a post on Facebook linking to a video of his testimony.
“So you didn’t commit any infraction? That’s wild,” one commenter wrote.
“Sure he did: driving while Black,” another responded. responded another.
Harris-Dawson did not revealthat he was issued a ticket during the stops.
Reps for the council president declined to comment.
