By tf-lawyer.com In February, the San Francisco Police Commission implemented a policy prohibiting officers from using slight “pretexts” to stop drivers, aiming to reduce the frequency of traffic stops involving people of color. This decision followed a tragic incident where a police officer known for issuing the most traffic citations took his own life after admitting to falsifying the ethnicity of individuals he ticketed. His actions have sparked an investigation into whether other officers might have reported inaccurate data to address concerns surrounding racial profiling. Despite his passing, the investigation is ongoing.
According to an analysis by the San Francisco Standard, from 2018 to 2021, Officer Rene Vig Nielsen reported that out of 1,139 individuals he stopped, only six were non-white. He informed investigators that he couldn’t determine someone’s ethnicity solely based on their appearance and stated, “I will not forcefully identify a person’s ethnicity, even under direct orders. That’s why everyone I stopped was recorded as the same ethnicity.”
A report released in June 2024 concluded that Nielsen’s actions severely compromised the integrity of the San Francisco Police Department’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) reports, which require the collection of data on the ethnic backgrounds of individuals stopped during traffic stops. Although the report did not name Nielsen directly, the Standard has confirmed he is the officer referenced. The investigation found that he violated departmental policies by providing false statements and failing to comply with orders.
Tony Montoya, former president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, described Nielsen’s actions as nothing short of lying. “Dishonesty is dishonesty, regardless of how it’s framed,” he stated.
A source familiar with the situation revealed that Nielsen’s behavior constituted grounds for termination. However, even if he had retained his job, any officer found to have lied could no longer testify in court, as their credibility would be in question.
Despite Nielsen’s suicide in September, the city of San Francisco continues to investigate allegations of inaccurate racial data reporting. Meanwhile, the police department announced that a multi-year reform process is nearing completion, which aims to reduce racial disparities across various law enforcement activities, from ticketing to the use of force.
Nielsen had entered these inaccurate records into a data system utilized by police departments across California. Under the RIPA, implemented in 2015, all police officers must document the ethnicity of everyone they stop. In many instances, Nielsen failed to communicate with dispatch during traffic stops and did not create stop records—information that investigators could have used to verify his actions.
The San Francisco Police Commission’s new policy reinforces that officers can no longer use minor infractions as a pretext to intervene, particularly with the goal of reducing stops of people of color, who are disproportionately targeted. Data across California shows that Black and Latino drivers are more likely to be pulled over than their White or Asian counterparts.
