Minnesota Legislature backs program that allows police to give vouchers for repairs instead of tickets for broken car lights

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Instead of issuing tickets for broken headlights and tail lights, some cops in Minnesota are giving out vouchers to fix them for free. And it has the support of state lawmakers. 

These law enforcement agencies — 130 in Minnesota — are part of the Lights On program, managed by nonprofit Microgrants. It creates a partnership between police departments and participating auto repair shops to cover the cost of repairs up to $250.

There have been more than 10,200 vouchers issued to date since the program launched in 2017 in the wake of Philando Castile's killing during a traffic stop for a broken tail light.

"It diffuses the [police] encounter, but it does more than diffuse encounters," said CEO John Harrington, who was once a police chief and the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. "It really provides an opportunity for building a relationship between the police and the community that they serve."

The goal is to keep low-income Minnesotans from a "downward spiral" that might come from that ticket — the cost on top of the cost of repairs, or additional fines and fees if that ticket is not paid. Harrington said more than half of the people given vouchers say they wouldn't have the money otherwise to fix the broken lights and would continue to drive with the hazard on their vehicle. 

The Minnesota Legislature this year provided $1.2 million for it, a request Lights On made in order to keep offering the vouchers at no cost to police departments and to expand it in the future. 

Republicans and Democrats both backed the proposal, and 40 law enforcement agencies from out-of-state are participating in the program too. 

Harrington said it initially grew through word of mouth — conversations between police chiefs and sheriffs about the success they saw offering the vouchers in their communities. 

"We do a survey on each voucher. And one of the things that we've been telling the chiefs of police is that 99.2% of the motorists who have been stopped and given a voucher said the interaction with a police officer was satisfactory or very satisfactory," he explained. 

"I have been a chief — at [Metro] Transit, St. Paul and the state. There's not a program that I've ever been involved with I got 99% favorable reviews on," he joked.

Bloomington Police Department signed on several years ago. Issuing the voucher is at the discretion of officers, said Chief Booker Hodges, but he's received positive feedback and said Bloomington police handed out more than 200 last year. 

"When you're stopping someone and they've got a car with a tail light out and you're able to hand them that coupon, it's been very rewarding for us," he said.

Bloomington is among dozens of Minnesota agencies and others in 21 states.