HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN – Law enforcement leaders out of Hennepin County, Minnesota, claim that a practice from their respective county attorney which involves tossing out felony charges stemming from pretextual traffic stops will result in higher rates of violent crime.
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office implemented a new policy in October of 2025 regarding criminal cases stemming from low-level traffic offenses, typically referred to as pretextual traffic stops, citing how the county attorney’s office would reportedly decline pursuing said cases.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty framed the matter last year in the worst possible light regarding how pretextual traffic stops can go awry, saying, “No one should lose their life as a result of a broken taillight or because they have an item dangling from their rearview mirror. Nor should they be put through the inconvenience, humiliation, and trauma that results from being searched as a result of a pretext stop.”
Nearly a year since the effort was rolled out by Moriarty’s office, law enforcement leaders from the county are speaking up about the downstream effects stemming from this social justice-themed endeavor.
Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett said of the matter, “We also need to start charging gun possession crimes when it applies and when it's illegal, because the gun possession crime, it is going to lead to that gun violence crime if you don't take care of it.”
Chief Sackett expressed frustration in light of ongoing gang violence reportedly impacting the community, detailing how in cases where illicit firearms are discovered during pretextual traffic stops the county attorney simply refuses to tackle the case because of the circumstances said firearms were discovered.
“So while we can stop that vehicle to try and intercept, engage, shut down some of this violence. And when we find guns out of these stops and can't charge them because it came out of an equipment violation, which is still a law in the books, that gets real tough,” Chief Sackett stated.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges is also among those who shared insight into the conundrum created by Moriarty’s office, citing how he’s already received “eight declination letters from the county attorney” regarding cases stemming from pretextual stops, but added those outright declinations don’t even tell the whole story.
“A considerable amount of our cases are still being held at the county attorney's office awaiting charging decisions. So those cases are not reflective of the eight letters that we already have since they made that policy change,” Chief Hodges stated.
Moriarty’s office has reportedly declined to comment on the concerns raised by law enforcement officials, instead asserting her office would have to review said claims before making a statement on the matter.
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