Memphis councilman moves to have traffic-stop data recorded
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(NewsNation) — Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr. is fighting for legislation that creates more transparency in the Memphis Police Department by requiring police officers to collect detailed data from all traffic stops.
Smiley’s proposed amendments to a 2020 city ordinance require data about gender, race, location and cause of traffic stop to be documented for public records. The measure also calls to make bodycam footage of traffic stops available on a “transparency portal,” reported to the City Council.
“You have to make things transparent and you make things transparent by introducing legislation that gives the people exactly what they want,” Smiley said on “NewsNation Prime.”
Smiley believes the collection and analysis of traffic-stop data is important in increasing accountability among Memphis police and rooting out individuals who contribute to a culture that caused Tyre Nichols’ death.
Speaking to NewsNation about why this data should be made available, Smiley said, “If we want to deter overtargeting, overpolicing of Black and brown communities or poor communities, we need that information.”
