Aiming to avoid unnecessary traffic stops, St. Paul cops offer taillight vouchers

Traffic stops can be fraught, to say the least. 

Since 2017, at least 800 people in the U.S. have been killed in interactions that began with a traffic stop, according to a Justice Innovation Lab report. 

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry says he sometimes gets nervous driving off-duty. He has lines rehearsed in case of a traffic stop. He keeps hands on the wheel and defers to the officer who stopped him: “I’m an off-duty officer. I have a firearm on my right hip. What would you like me to do?”