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New DMV Guidelines Aimed To End Violent Traffic Stops Raise Criticism

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,
Dana Terry
Published January 19, 2018 at 12:42 PM EST
Dave DeWitt
Credit Dave DeWitt

The North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation last summer aimed at preventing violence during police stops.  House Bill 21 instructed that the Department of Motor Vehicles update the driver’s license handbook to include updated guidelines for behavior during a police stop.

Host Frank Stasio talks about new DMV guidelines aimed to end violent traffic stops with Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House and Susanna Birdsong, policy counsel for North Carolina ACLU.

The DMV released a draft of the new guidelines, and not everyone is pleased. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina has asked for the guidelines to be modified to more clearlyensurethe right to remain silent. Host FrankStasiotalks about the new guidelines with Police Chief Dan House ofWrightsvilleBeach Police. House serves on Governor Cooper’s Crime Commission and helped develop the new guidelines. He is also joined by Susanna Birdsong, policy counsel for North Carolina ACLU, who believes language in the new guidelines may violate driver’s rights.

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Dana Terry
Dana is an award-winning producer who began as a personality at Rock 92. Once she started creating content for morning shows, she developed a love for producing. Dana has written and produced for local and syndicated commercial radio for over a decade. WUNC is her debut into public radio and she’s excited to tell deeper, richer stories.
See stories by Dana Terry