Houston has officially ended its policy requiring daily traffic stops by police officers, following a decisive move by Police Chief Noe Diaz and a unanimous city council vote.
Just hours before the city council was scheduled to vote on the matter, Diaz formally rescinded a policy that had required officers to conduct at least one traffic stop per day.
In a written statement issued yesterday afternoon, Diaz announced the immediate repeal of the policy:
Effective immediately, we are rescinding this directive. New guidance will be distributed to all patrol stations, emphasizing officer discretion. Our commitment to fairness, transparency, and public safety, while protecting the rights of every resident, remains unwavering.
Shortly after Diaz’s statement, the city council unanimously passed an ordinance amending Section 45-11 of the city’s code. The new provision states: “No police officer shall be directed or required to have a quota on the minimum amount of traffic stops during a normal working shift.”
Before this ordinance, the only legal framework limiting quotas came from Section 720.002 of the Texas Transportation Code, which bans citation quotas—but does not explicitly mention traffic stops. This omission created a legal loophole, allowing departments to impose traffic stop quotas without technically violating the state law.
The push to eliminate the quota system was led by Councilmembers Edward Pollard, Tarsha Jackson, and Tiffany Thomas. The effort was made possible by Proposition A, passed by Houston voters in November 2023 with 83 percent support. That measure allows any three council members to place an item on the council agenda.
Pollard emphasized that Chief Diaz’s decision to rescind the policy was not politically motivated. “I viewed the police chief’s directive as a show of support and solidarity between HPD and city council,” Pollard said.
Mayor John Whitmire added that, despite the previous policy being on the books, it had not been enforced since his administration began.
“Thank you for putting it in an ordinance form, but it has not been a practice of HPD since the new administration and the new police chief,” he said.
The new ordinance comes on the heels of another major announcement from the mayor: a new contract agreement between the city and the Houston Police Officers’ Union. Under the deal, starting salaries for first-year officers will rise to $81,000, and the department will expand by 500 officers—from 5,700 to 6,200.
