Thursday, April 22, 2021 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
Hundreds of cities and towns gain a substantial portion of their operating revenue from traffic citations. Many Black persons are killed during traffic stops that begin as frivolous matters, such as broken tail lights, changing lanes without a signal, expired license plates, air fresheners hanging from rear view mirrors, driving slightly over the speed limit, etc.
Are these small infractions worth a life? Not in my opinion. Are police being urged to issue citations to increase revenue? People need to pay for the government they want through taxes. That falls on everyone, not just an unlucky few who come under the notice of a traffic cop.
Instead of spending time and effort trying to retrain our policemen to use better judgment and less force during encounters with drivers, why not reduce encounters by paying our fair share of necessary taxes and eliminate frivolous traffic stops?
