N.J. launches traffic stop program in response to police shootings

Attorney General Christopher Porrino on Wednesday announced a statewide program in response to police shootings that have led to a national discussion of race relations and, more recently, protests by football players drawing the ire of President Donald Trump.

The new initiative is called SAFE STOP and is designed to build trust between communities and law enforcement with the goal of encouraging safe traffic stops. The campaign, announced during a news conference in Trenton, includes public service announcements featuring NBA Hall of Fame inductee Shaquille O'Neal and former New York Giant Pro Bowl player Jessie Armstead that will be aired on television, online and in movie theaters.

The ads, some of which also include police officers and community leaders, direct viewers to a website, SafeStopNJ.com, detailing people's rights and obligations under the law and how to file a complaint if they feel they've been unfairly treated by a police officer. The roughly $1 million campaign, financed mostly through forfeitures, is expected to last through the year, possibly longer if Porrino's successor early next year decides to extend it.

The initiative aims to heighten awareness on both sides. Many motorists, for example, aren't aware that the law requires them to comply with an officer's instructions to get out of a vehicle, regardless of whether the driver thinks the stop was warranted or any laws have been broken, Porrino said. And he said that some drivers think that quickly grabbing their registration and insurance from the glove compartment when they get pulled over is the preferred response. But it's not, and quick movements can cause concern for an approaching officer, he said.

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Coinciding with the new program, Porrino also issued a new directive intended to improve accountability in the internal affairs process by creating a hotline and web site to follow up with the office if complaints are not addressed in a timely manner.

“We all agree that not every civilian community member trusts the police. And we know that not every police officer conducting a stop trusts the person that they're pulling over," Porrino said at the news conference. "We're here together aware of the challenges we face. And we stand together to do something about it. As I said, to take a practical, concrete step forward — a step that, we pray, will decrease the likelihood that police-civilian encounters become violent."

More than a dozen law enforcement and community organizations are partnering with the state, including the American Civil Liberties Union, New Jersey NAACP, Garden State Equality and the Policemen's Benevolent Association. Representatives from partners, as well as Armstead, joined Porrino at Wednesday's announcement.

Porrino said SAFE STOP evolved from a series of deadly police-involved shootings such as one in North Charleston, South Carolina, in which a white officer fatally shot a fleeing black motorist, and the killings of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last year. But there have been a number of fatal encounters between police and black motorists during traffic stops in the last several years that have put a large spotlight on race relations. One of the most notable incidents was the killing of Philando Castile, an unarmed black man whose girlfriend streamed on Facebook the traffic stop in which he was fatally shot.

The response to the killings has morphed into a running debate over free speech sparked by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who in 2016 started taking a knee during the national anthem before games in protest against police-involved shootings and what he called systematic oppression of blacks.

Players all around the league have followed Kaepernick's lead, continuing into this season. Trump has frequently condemned the protests as unpatriotic and pushed for owners to fire players who kneel during the anthem. And the protests have led to at least one counter-demonstration in New Jersey, when a father-son officiating crew walked off the field in Monroe after players took a knee during the anthem.

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Porrino said his role is not to debate who is right or wrong. But on a practical level, Porrino said the the string of violent traffic stops appears to have widened a trust gap between civilians and law enforcement. The mutual mistrust “isn’t fair to our citizens and isn’t fair to our police officers,” he said in a statement, and the SAFE STOP concept is an "important next step" to avoid unnecessary violence. It is meant to start a conversation, he said, not to serve as a cure.

Porrino made an appeal to members of the news media covering the announcement.

"My request to professional athletes, to celebrities who want to do something other than just talk about whether people should stand or kneel or stay in the locker room and want to do something concrete and meaningful, we ask them to raise their hand, to let us know. And we will come and take care of all the arrangements and shoot a 30-second video with their endorsement and support for this campaign. We think it's that important," Porrino said.

The hotline to follow up on complaints is 833-4-SAFE-NJ, and the web portal is www.safestopnj.com/complaint.