When it comes to stopping crime in California, we can always depend on Democrats to make it worse. Enter Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, and his recent bill SB50. This bill "would prohibit a peace officer from stopping or detaining the operator of a motor vehicle or bicycle for a low-level infraction, as defined, unless a separate, independent basis for a stop exists." An infraction would be something like speeding, failure to yield, cell phone usage, et cetera. Now, there are some people who think this isn't a big deal and that no harm could come from this, and they are all dead wrong. 

We all see that crime in California is getting out of control. One doesn't need to look any further than the news or social media to see stories of shootings, brazen daylight robberies and burglaries, freeway and street takeovers, public events turning into riots, and more. It's happening so much that people are starting to believe that it's the new normal. 

This is scary folks. A robbery yesterday at the B of A parking lot on Azusa Ave in Hacienda Heights, interrupted by good samaritans! Hey @HildaSolis,@SupJaniceHahn and all the social justice warriors, how’s that “reimagining” working out?#VictimsMatter pic.twitter.com/HSFaA0CGDh

— Alex Villanueva (@AlexVilanueva33) August 15, 2023

During my time as a police officer, I was taught and implemented what is known as good proactive policing, the traffic and pedestrian stops. We use these stops to catch criminals in the commission of a crime, leaving the scene of a crime, or otherwise conducting criminal activity, and using a vehicle as their method of transportation from one scene to another or to evade law enforcement. Does that mean I stopped everyone for any violation? No, it doesn't. What it means is that we are taught (ad nauseam) how to identify someone who is hiding something or matches the description of a suspect. For example, why would a man wear long jeans, a hoodie sweatshirt with the hood on his head, along with a hat and sunglasses on a sunny day in 110-degree heat? If that doesn't look suspicious, I've beachfront property at Twentynine Palms you might be interested in. 

Traffic stops allow us to not just warn/cite (police jargon for warn or issue a citation) for these offenses; they allow us an opportunity to talk to the people in the car face to face. To see their emotional states, see if they're nervous or avoiding eye contact, sweating when it's freezing cold, and all the different mannerisms that people show when they're hiding something. I had the opportunity to be trained in what is known as analytical interviewing, which allowed me to identify all these tells, the same way a poker player could see the tells of their opponents. Using this training and experience I was able to recover countless stolen vehicles, lost or stolen guns, recovered dozens of pounds of illegal narcotics, made hundreds of arrests, and stopped hundreds more crimes from being committed. 

When street cops conduct traffic stops -- and I'm not talking about motor officers or other traffic units; I'm talking about the beat cops, crime suppression teams, and other marked units. When we stop someone, the overwhelming majority of the time it's because we suspect either criminal activity or the license plate comes back to either a wanted person, somebody on probation or parole, a warrant to the car, et cetera. And in order to stop the vehicle, unless there are warrants or other wants attached to the license plate, we use minor traffic infractions to initiate those stops, such as speeding.  

Since the passage of AB109 and Props 47 and 57, state Democrats have made an already hard job almost impossible. A Deputy Sheriff in Southern California, whose identity RedState is not publishing due to the nature of their job, said:

We took a vote, just the patrol guys, and we agreed that we wouldn't do any more t-stops unless we absolutely have to, like a deuce (drunk driver) or stolen car. If we do, we're requesting a unit backup and a sergeant. We won't roll to a call without a partner anymore or a sergeant. We basically just want to shut it down. We're more afraid of our own department trying to fire us than we are of getting hurt or killed. It's just not worth it anymore.

California Democrats, along with Sen. Bradford, are hell-bent on destroying policing as we know it. A perfect example of this would be West Hollywood and their infamous "safety ambassadors," who are just unarmed city employees who just watch the crime happen and report it. Oh, and they eliminated five Sheriff's Deputies from the contract budget to hire the ambassadors. Your car is getting damaged by a crazed lunatic right in front of the Sheriff's Station? They'll just watch.

Once again, California is leading the nation in ways to embolden and protect criminals and innocent civilians, AND police are paying the price. How much more can we take of this insanity?