The Chris Moeller Archives

The Gangsters of the Hawkeye State

Is there a connection to Ferguson, Missouri, and the Iowa Department of Transportation's order to municipalities to remove a large percentage of the automated traffic cameras currently blanketing the state, including ones that clock traffic on interstate highways through both Des Moines and Cedar Rapids? The state DOT ruled last week that, with only a few exceptions, these cameras have been ticketing far more drivers than they have prevented accidents, and they must be removed by April 17th.

Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice released a comprehensive report of its investigation into the Ferguson police department, concluding in part that the city's "law enforcement practices are shaped by the City's focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs." Adding, "this emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson’s police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing, and has also shaped its municipal court, leading to procedures that raise due process concerns and inflict unnecessary harm on members of the Ferguson community. Further, Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices both reflect and exacerbate existing racial bias, including racial stereotypes."

The strikingly-similar 'taxation by citation' practices of Iowa cities in regards to traffic patrol have not included a racial bias (as far as we know at this time), but doesn't it make at least some sense that the state of Iowa might begin policing its own police with more vigor after our neighbors to the south become the target of the DOJ? My guess is that the state of Iowa knows that its cities' tactics in regards to plundering us on the roadway are legally indefensible, and the Ferguson verdict is a big reason why. Another big one might be Ferguson-related also-- the important-yet-much-maligned public protests that have flared up in that city over the last year because of police misconduct and patterns of unconstitutional traffic stops.

posted by CM @ 4:03 PM