By Louis Krauss
Star Tribune
HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. — Hennepin County law enforcement leaders on Friday condemned the County Attorney’s Office announcement that it will no longer prosecute most felony cases arising from low-level traffic stops.
County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who revealed the new policy Wednesday, said it will help reduce disproportionate targeting of minorities in stops for minor offenses such as broken taillights or improper turns. The policy takes effect Oct. 15.
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Sheriff Dawanna Witt and police chiefs who spoke were critical of not being notified ahead of the announcement. They said the change will “embolden criminals” because charges will not be filed if serious gun or drug possession crimes are discovered during a low-level stop.
In a morning news conference organized by the Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association, Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Boerboom said the policy doesn’t take into consideration how each of the dozens of different communities and police departments of Hennepin County will be uniquely affected.
“This one-size-fits-all policy will have serious consequences for policing and for public safety across our county,” said Boerboom, who is also president of the county police chiefs association.
Roughly 20 law enforcement leaders and police chiefs joined Boerboom and Witt at the news conference in Minneapolis City Hall to show their disapproval of the policy.
In response, the County Attorney‘s office said in a statement that other jurisdictions across the country have implemented the same policy, which has allowed a greater focus on serious crimes.
“The same objections arise every time, and they are overcome by the policy change being successful every time in shifting law enforcement resources to focus on violent crimes and dangerous driving conduct that take lives,” the statement read.
According to Witt, just less than half of the 377 illegally possessed guns seized by the Sheriff’s Office so far in 2025 were taken during traffic stops.
She said her office has made just over 93,200 stops this year, with 62,600 resulting in verbal warnings without a citation or arrest.
Moriarty, meanwhile, presented data that shows gun and drug charges stemming from traffic stops are rare. In a release, her office said that in all Minneapolis police equipment and moving violations in 2017 and 2018, a gun was recovered less than 0.5% of the time.
When asked about the rationale of the policy helping reduce racial profiling, Witt said she believes the practice exists. But she said agencies must deal with individuals who are responsible for those problems instead of making “blanket rules or policies that limit law enforcement from using the tools that we have to keep our community safe.”
Erik Fadden , the public safety director for the city of Plymouth , said the policy would hinder police in situations such as a recent traffic stop when a driver pulled over for illegal window tinting turned out to be a felon banned from carrying a gun.
Joining Moriarty on Wednesday was Ramsey County Attorney John Choi , who instituted a nearly identical policy change in 2021 and said it was the most criticized decision of his career.
After years of studying the data with law enforcement and the public, he said, it was shown that “public safety was not negatively impacted at all” in Ramsey County.
Minneapolis police did not attend the Friday news conference. A department spokesman said this week that the new policy will not affect the way Minneapolis officers patrol because “much of what was announced” has already been policy since October 2021.
A main criticism on Friday was that law enforcement groups were not consulted earlier.
Boerboom said he was not told of the policy until two minutes before it was announced. Afterward, Boerboom said, he and other chiefs heard concerns from their officers and the public about how it will affect their work.
“We should have been invited to the table and had a conversation about how this affects our communities,” he said.
Moriarty’s office said engaging with law enforcement in advance previously has led to “leaks and coordinated efforts to undermine collaborative work.”
Her office said it purposefully announced the policy a month ahead of the Oct. 15 implementation date so that it can “meaningfully engage with all stakeholders,” including law enforcement and community partners.
Do you believe the county attorney’s move to halt felony prosecutions arising from low-level traffic stops will negatively impact policing in the region?
Jeff Day of the Minneapolis Star Tribune contributed to this story.
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