An external investigation into the Michigan State Police finds some agency policies and programs are creating racial disparities in traffic stops.
Previous studies of the state police have found the agency pulls over a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic drivers. The most recent report from the non-profit research firm CNA concluded those disparities do not appear to be caused by discriminatory traffic enforcement.
But the analysis does find some MSP policies likely contributed to more troopers initiating encounters with people of color.
"There are changes that MSP can and should make to its policies and operations to ensure more equitable traffic enforcement," the report reads.
Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez with the Michigan State Police said the agency plans to review the feedback.
“We're always evolving, we want to be better, just like every other agency," Gonzalez said. "So we will continue to look into it, and find out what the issue is in there if there is one."
The document states the MSP provides troopers with insufficient training on the use of discretion and the policy of "going beyond the stop." Troopers initiating a traffic stop can look for signs of a potential crime, but the report said those indicators can be subjective. Some troopers said those signs included if if those being pulled over were in a state of "nervousness" or were "looking forward with both hands on the steering wheel."
The state police also have discretion in where they patrol. While the MSP does not have an expectation for troopers to write a minimum number of tickets each day, the report states that they are expected to remain "productive" during their shift.
"The widespread cultural expectation that troopers make entries on their daily at set intervals is akin to an informal quota system and may alter how troopers patrol," the authors note. "Troopers working posts with large, rural areas and interspersed urban areas may ignore the rural areas if there is not enough activity and congregate in urban areas to fill their dailies. As the urban areas are more likely to contain non-White residents, this may inadvertently lead to disparate stops."
The report includes 54 recommendations. They recommend the agency strengthen guidance and supervision in its patrols and traffic stops.
The investigation comes after the ACLU of Michigan and the state police settled a lawsuit last year that alleged officers racially profiled a Black motorist. Part of that settlement involved this separate review of traffic enforcement.
Gonzalez said the report shows racial disparities in traffic stops weren't "due to racial profiling or discriminatory practices."
But ACLU attorney Mark Fancher said the report's findings remain concerning. He said the state police should improve its implicit bias training and change its perceptions of what troopers consider suspicious behavior.
“When you have discriminatory outcomes and effects, it doesn't matter what motivated it, whether it was something that's unintentional, or whether it was purposeful, it still causes problems for those who are victims of it," Fancher said.
"They have aspects of their organization...that are causing discriminatory outcomes. And if they continue to ignore them, then that makes them as culpable as anybody who is intentionally discriminating for for any reason."
