Forest Country News

The controversial state practice of arresting people during minor traffic stops needs to end, said a conservative Republican East Texas representative on a podcast.

Texas doesn't "need to do fortuitous arrests," said Rep. James White (R-Woodville) during comments on "Reasonably Suspicious" podcast March 8.

"We don't need to be putting people in the county jail or the municipal jail on tax dollars in an inefficient way," White said. "We don't need to be doing that. We don't need to be doing end runs around the Fourth Amendment."

White, a Houston native and U.S. Army veteran who taught in Houston-area public schools, has represented the 19th House District since 2012. The district includes the counties of Polk, Hardin, Jasper, Newton and Tyler. 

White was appointed last month to chair the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. 

Ending the practice of arresting people for Class C misdemeanors isn't anti-law enforcement and police should not see it that way, White, a longtime law enforcement supporter, said during the podcast.

"What I would tell the law enforcement leaders is I don't want your role being devalued," White said. "I think you do important work. I think when children look at you, you know, on the street corner, and they look at that badge. That's a badge of a lot of importance. I want to lift you up. I just don't want to see your role being devalued."

Tens of thousands of Texans are arrested each year for minor fine-only offenses, mostly traffic violations, according to a Lone Star Standard news story published last month. The practice cost the state millions of dollars in 2019 in having to maintain jails for these nonviolent offenders, according to the news story, which cited a 2019 Texas Appleseed report.

In 10 Texas counties, people charged with class C misdemeanors took up 6,825 jail bed days. The news story also reported that in 2019 of 9.7 million traffic stops, 3.2% (310,000) of those stops ended in someone getting arrested. Of those arrested, 21% (more than 64,000) were for Class C misdemeanors, such as moving violations.

Texas law that requires anyone found guilty of a Class C misdemeanor should face fines of no more than $500 nor should they face jail time. Just Liberty Policy Director Scott Henson told the Texas Observer in January that law enforcement officers often use such arrests to get around the Fourth Amendment. That amendment requires a warrant or a person’s permission for vehicular searches.

Police also use such arrests to punish offenders who make them angry, a practice Henson called "contempt of cop."

In 2016 the Texas Association of Counties reported in an unfunded mandate survey that the conservative average cost to holding a person in jail is $60 per day.

The Texas practice of arresting people for traffic violations attracted national attention last summer after Keller police assaulted and arrested a North Texas man and his son. The alleged racial profiling incident over a minor traffic infraction led to a now-settled federal lawsuit.