East Lansing Repeals Loud Exhaust Portion of Pretextual Stops Ordinance, to Consider Rolling Back Other Provisions
Last night, the East Lansing City Council voted to remove a section of the city’s pretextual stops ordinance that instructed East Lansing Police Department officers to not pull cars over for loud exhaust.
In late 2024, East Lansing implemented the ordinance with the goal of reducing bias in policing. Pretextual stops are conducted for minor traffic violations that are not considered safety risks and often rely on officers’ discretion.
When it was adopted, the loud exhaust provision was especially controversial because excessively noisy cars with modified mufflers have been a common complaint from residents.
Council passed the resolution after learning that ELPD and police departments around the state struggle to enforce noise ordinances against cars because they are unable to pick up decibel readings on moving vehicles, making infractions difficult to prove in court.
Recently, City Manager Robert Belleman told East Lansing Info in an email that ELPD has issued just one ticket for loud exhaust since 2020.
While the ordinance amendment will allow ELPD to pull drivers over for loud exhaust, the plan is not to start issuing tickets right away. Prior to the meeting, Belleman explained to ELi that ELPD will pull drivers over with loud cars to educate them about noise ordinances.
“The goal is not about issuing tickets and not about making pre-textual stops legal,” Belleman wrote in an email. “Instead, from what I’ve learned and heard about this, the goal is to remove the ordinance provision that prevents the City and its officials from being able to address an issue that people living in, conducting business in, and visiting our downtown area and neighborhoods have complained about and indicate is negatively affecting their lives, properties, businesses, and enjoyment of this community. Again, ELPD intends to educate the community before enforcing this possible change in local law.”
“Over the next 30 days, it may even be longer, the police department plans to educate our community about the change in the ordinance and what it looks like for that enforcement,” Police Chief Jennifer Brown said at last night’s meeting.
Brown said ELPD will focus on cars with mufflers that are intentionally modified to be loud, not cars with broken mufflers.
In response to a question from Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Grigsby, Brown said that ELPD will also pull over motorcycles under the amended ordinance.
Still, Mayor Erik Altmann, who has been a leading advocate for repealing this section of the ordinance, tempered expectations for change in the short term.
“It’s not going to solve the problem overnight,” Altmann said. “Police understaffing issues remain and also state law makes it difficult to prosecute offenders. But I still think it’s going to be an important step in the right direction.”
Community members push back against rolling back pretextual stops ordinance – but further changes could be coming.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, several speakers pushed back against amending the pretextual stops ordinance.
“Subjective noise complaints are frequently used as a gateway for illegal searches and the harassment of Black, brown and poor community members,” said Dana Watson, who recently vacated her seat on City Council and voted in favor of the ordinance in 2024. “We demand a shift from officer discretion to empirical data.”
For months, a cloud of controversy has hung over ELPD. During Michigan State University’s welcome weekend, an ELPD officer deployed pepper spray on two Black men downtown. The department issued a press release about the incident that was later contradicted by surveillance footage released by the attorney for the men.
City Council later voted to hire an independent investigator to review ELPD policies and practices, but the report is set to be confidential when it is finished. The series of events has triggered public backlash and calls for Brown’s resignation from residents and two different city commissions, but leading city officials have largely remained silent about the incident.
“All I’m asking is, [Mayor] Erik Altmann, as a leader of the community, just speak up and say something, address your constituents, be a human being,” said Josh Hewitt, who serves on the city’s Human Rights Commission.
Even with concerns around policing, council is positioned to discuss rolling back other parts of the pretextual stops ordinance at a future meeting.
Councilmember Steve Whelan, who served as an ELPD officer for 25 years, said he thinks the city should consider repealing other portions of the ordinance, like cracked tail light and tinted windows.
Councilmember Mark Meadows suggested the full pretextual stops ordinance be added to a future discussion-only meeting agenda, so council can discuss other provisions.