ONLY ONE OUT OF EVERY SIX TRAFFIC VIOLATORS STOPPED BY NASHVILLE COPS ARE TICKETED

In most cities a cop would be severely disciplined if he wrote a citation to only one out of every six traffic violators that he stopped

Nashville, Tennessee Police Chief Steve Anderson responded to a recent email from a citizen who complained about Nashville cops allowing protesters to block a freeway and to block shoppers at a mall from going about their shopping.

Chief Anderson said that zero tolerance for minor offenses was not always the best course and that police officers must sometimes use their discretion by doing what’s best for all of Nashville, in this case allowing the protesters to do their thing even though it was against the law.

The chief gave the following example of police discretion:

“In the year 2013, our officers made over four hundred thousand vehicle stops, mostly for traffic violations. A citation was issued in only about one in six of those stops. Five of the six received warnings. This is the police exercising discretion for minor violations of the law. Few, if any, persons would argue that the police should have no discretion.”

Now that is simply amazing. Most cities count on traffic fines as a cash cow for their budgets. Many police departments have unwritten traffic ticket quotas. That has been the case in Houston. I know that a Houston cop who wrote a citation to only one out of every six traffic violators that he stopped, would be suspended, demoted or possibly even be fired.

Chief Anderson and his Nashville cops deserve to be commended for their extraordinary approach to traffic enforcement.