Montgomery County Council Public Safety Committee members voted 2-1 to oppose a bill that would prohibit police from conducting consent searches of a motor vehicle during a traffic stop.
Therefore, the proposed Freedom to Leave Act will be sent to the full council strictly for a briefing. However, if a majority of council members support it, the bill could be discussed and voted upon.
Under the proposed law, police would be required to collect data during traffic stops. The bill also would exclude prohibition on traffic stops from collective bargaining.
According to Councilmember Will Jawando, the bill’s sponsor, too many people – especially Black males – are subject to searches. “It’s not happening the same way for everybody,” he said during the Monday morning committee hearing.
Consent to search a vehicle currently is voluntary and can be limited, for instance a driver could agree to have the car’s interior searched but not the trunk.
According to Jawando, the “vast majority” of drivers agree to a search, because they believe law enforcement officers have power over them.
Also, he said, “This is not a good use of time,” noting that, nationally, only one in 225 searches yield weapons.
Montgomery Police Chief Marc Yamada called vehicle searches “a valuable tool,” and noted that guns are transported by vehicles throughout Washington, D.C., Prince George’s County and even Germantown to Silver Spring and vice versa.
He is working with members of the police union to create a policy concerning vehicle searches during traffic stops.
Yamada doubted that people are afraid to refuse an officer’s request for a search. “Our officers on a daily basis receive a tremendous amount of disrespect. To say that they don’t believe they can say no is probably not what we are seeing out there.”
He pointed out that “when they say no, our officers are walking away.”
Acting Assistant Chief David McBain agreed, adding, “We don’t coerce. There is no trickery we use to get into these cars.”
John McCarthy, Montgomery County’s State’s Attorney, opposes the proposed law, explaining, “I think it’s a moral issue for the police.”
Councilmember Sidney Katz and County Executive Marc Elrich prefer this issue be refined within the police department rather than have it legislated into law.
Committee member Dawn Luedtke voted against recommending the bill to the full council along with Katz.
Following the committee hearing, community organizations in the Decriminalize Montgomery County Campaign held a press conference outside the county council building in Rockville in support of the bill.
