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Traffic Stops Shooting Leads to Front License Plate Bill
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A motorist’s fatal shooting by a University of Cincinnati police officer who stopped him for a missing front license plate has prompted Ohio legislation to prevent police from pulling drivers over for only one plate.
State law requires front and back plates. The bill introduced Thursday by state Sen. Cecil Thomas would make driving without a front license plate a secondary violation. Drivers couldn’t be cited for lacking front plates unless there was another reason to stop them.
The Cincinnati Democrat says the bill entitled “Dubose Was a Beacon Act” refers to Samuel DuBose. Now-fired officer Ray Tensing has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in DuBose’s July 19 shooting.
Thomas says the legislation would limit the likelihood of potentially violent encounters between police and motorists.