A decrease in the number of traffic stops over the course of 12 months highlighted the Kyle Police Department’s annual racial profiling statistics, which were made public earlier this year.
Jeff Barnett, Kyle Police Department chief, said the decrease is attributed to reassigning patrol officers back to traffic enforcement and higher officer visibility.
While Kyle Police have more boots on the ground when it comes to enforcing traffic regulations, Barnett said the city continues to have officers go from call-to-call due to the high volume of calls for service in the city.
“It doesn’t mean our patrol officers can’t handle traffic, but they’re busy going from call to call,” Barnett said. “The time for traffic enforcement is not as high as we would like.”
According to city documents, Kyle Police received one complaint of racial profiling. Pedro Hernandez, Kyle Police captain, said in a memoradium to Barnett the allegation was determined to be “unfounded” after a full internal affairs investigation.
Meanwhile in Buda, officers wrote fewer citations to motorists than they did in 2015.
Bo Kidd, Buda Police Department chief, said the city issued just over 1,434 citations last year, which amounted to a 241-citation decrease from 2015.
