The leading police union in Los Angeles is calling for a formal inquiry into allegations that a city council president was stopped by police due to his race. However, further details suggest the traffic stop was related to reckless driving in a school zone.
The Los Angeles Police Protective Alliance has raised concerns about whether Marquise Harris Dawson, 56, attempted to misuse his position to evade traffic penalties, indicating potential involvement from outside influences.
In a letter addressed to City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto and the District Attorney’s Office, LAPPL President Ricky Mendoza highlighted what he termed a “disturbing scene” during a traffic stop near a high school on March 4, which took place during school hours.
According to reports, Harris Dawson was pulled over by a school police officer for a moving violation. Rather than accepting a ticket, it’s alleged he tried to dodge the citation by reaching out to a school board member.
“Reports indicate that Mr. Harris Dawson did contact members of the Los Angeles Unified School District School Board ‘in an apparent effort to avoid citation,'” Mendoza noted in the letter.
“If this is indeed the case, the public deserves to know which school board member he contacted, what was discussed, and whether he attempted to reach the officers involved,” the communication stated.
The memo stresses the need for a “thorough and transparent investigation” to ascertain if there were any legal breach or if public trust has been compromised.
Just two days following the traffic stop, the council president informed his colleagues he felt he had been stopped without justification, implying that racial bias played a role, and described the experience as traumatic, referring to a pattern of “grossly racially biased” traffic stops in Los Angeles.
Nevertheless, officials clarified that the stop was executed by the Los Angeles School Police Department, rather than the LAPD, and was indeed connected to a traffic violation in a school area.
Authorities reported that Harris-Dawson had been driving erratically during morning drop-off, pulling in front of a police cruiser and making an illegal U-turn across a median.
It was confirmed by sources that during the suspension, Harris-Dawson did reach out to trustees from the Los Angeles Unified School District, a detail that is pivotal to the union’s request for a deeper examination.
Union representatives have strongly condemned the way the incident has been portrayed to the public, arguing that significant facts were overlooked as the situation has been leveraged in broader discussions about traffic enforcement policies.
A union spokesperson remarked that the report was both “self-serving” and incomplete, urging authorities to “get to the bottom” of what they described as an “unethical and despicable incident.”
This controversy arises as the City Council is set to vote next week on regulations regarding minor traffic stops.
Attempts to contact Harris-Dawson for comments on the matter have gone unanswered.
