An annual report finds that Missouri law enforcement officers are continuing to pull over black drivers at a significantly greater rate than white drivers.
The report Friday from Attorney General Chris Koster said black drivers were 66 percent more likely than white ones to be stopped based on their proportionate share of the driving-age population last year. The disparity increased slightly from 2012 but is up significantly since 2000 when the state first began reporting racial demographics about traffic stops. In 2000, blacks were 30 percent more likely than whites to be pulled over. Koster says this year's report continues a "disturbing trend" in Missouri. But he also says the statistics don't prove that law officers are making vehicle stops based on the race of the driver.
