CONTACT: media@acluct.org
WHAT: Press Conference and Rally in support of House Bill 5324 for Driving Equity
WHEN: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 9:30 am to 10:00 am
WHERE: East Side, CT State Capitol, 210 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT
WHO: The event is led by the ACLU of Connecticut and the Center for Policing Equity.
Speakers will include:
- Rep. Steven Stafstrom, Chair, Judiciary Committee
- Sen. Gary Winfield, Chair, Judiciary Committee
- Corrie Betts, President, Hartford, CT, Branch, NAACP
- Charmin Leon, Senior Director, CompStat for Justice, Center for Policing Equity
- Luis Mattei, Smart Justice Leader, formerly incarcerated / impacted individual
- Anderson Curtis, Senior Policy Organizer, ACLU-CT (moderator)
Speakers and staff will be available to answer questions following the event.
WHY: Police are pulling drivers over for administrative and minor equipment issues on Connecticut roads that could easily be ticketed in other ways. These stops, known as “secondary stops,” are dangerous and unnecessary for all involved.
Secondary stops often target traffic violations that are crimes of poverty, such as driving with an expired license or in an unregistered vehicle. These unnecessary stops also create a pathway to discriminatory policing. Connecticut police are significantly more likely to pull over Black and Latine drivers than white drivers for administrative and minor equipment issues.
