Beltway Traffic Stop Prompts Call For Inquiry Into Police: Report

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County’s commonwealth’s attorney is calling on the Virginia State Police to conduct an internal investigation into a traffic stop where a Black driver was ordered out of her car for allegedly having defective taillights. The driver was eventually arrested for driving under the influence, although she easily passed a breathalyzer test at the Fairfax County jail, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Steve Descano, the commonwealth’s attorney, dismissed all charges against the driver, Juanisha C. Brooks. In a letter to the Virginia State Police, he said “the stop was without proper legal basis,” given a recent change in the law, and the “dashcam footage does not provide a factual basis to support the warrants,” according to The Washington Post's report.

The dismissal of charges against Brooks follows a long list of recent questionable traffic stops of Black motorists by police. In Minnesota, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop on April 11.

Read the full story on The Washington Post.