Time to examine whether minor vehicle infractions merit police stops

One big question deserves to be on every police officer’s mind when pulling a motorist over for a relatively minor offense: Is this stop really worth the violent confrontation or death that could follow? Even if cops aren’t asking that question, city governments are, and they increasingly are concluding that, no, it’s better to let the offender move on than risk yet another tragedy that undermines public trust in the police. On April 4 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an officer stopped a Black driver for having a license plate that didn’t match his car. The unarmed driver, Patrick Lyoya, made a ser...