In February of this year, the San Francisco Police Commission introduced a policy prohibiting officers from making pretextual stops, which are minor infractions used as a pretext to pull over drivers. The aim of this policy is to reduce the number of traffic stops involving people of color.
This comes in the wake of a tragic incident involving one of the city’s most prolific traffic ticket writers, Officer Rene Vig Nielsen, who took his own life after it was revealed that he falsified racial data on tickets. His actions have led to an ongoing investigation into whether other officers might have reported similar misinformation to address issues related to racial profiling. Even though Nielsen has passed away, the investigation continues.
Analysis by the San Francisco Standard highlighted that between 2018 and 2021, Nielsen reported that out of the 1,139 individuals he stopped, only six were not white. He informed investigators that he could not determine a person’s ethnicity solely based on appearance and claimed he would not enforce a racial determination, even under direct orders. This led to his recording every individual he stopped as belonging to the same racial group.
A June 2024 report by law enforcement concluded that Nielsen’s conduct significantly compromised the integrity of the San Francisco Police Department’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act reports, which mandate the collection of ethnic data during traffic stops. While the report did not name Nielsen directly, the Standard confirmed he was the officer referenced. The investigators determined that he had violated department policies by providing false statements and disobeying orders.
Tony Montoya, former president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, criticized Nielsen’s actions, stating that any form of dishonesty is simply wrong. An insider revealed that Nielsen’s actions were serious enough to warrant termination. However, even if an officer remains employed after being found guilty of dishonesty, their credibility as a witness in court becomes severely compromised.
Despite Nielsen’s suicide in September, San Francisco continues to investigate the allegations of inaccurate racial reporting. Meanwhile, the police department announced that a multi-year reform initiative is nearing completion, targeting disparities in police work ranging from ticketing to the use of force.
Nielsen contributed these inaccurate reports to the data system used by law enforcement across California. Under the 2015 Racial and Identity Profiling Act, all officers are required to record the ethnicity of every person they stop. In many instances, Nielsen failed to communicate with dispatch and did not create stop records during traffic stops, which could have been used to verify his actions.
The policy established by the San Francisco Police Commission this year aims to eliminate the use of minor infractions as a basis for traffic stops, particularly as they disproportionately affect people of color. Data across California indicates that Black and Latino drivers are more likely to be stopped than their white or Asian counterparts.
