CHICAGO (WLS) — The ABC7 I-Team has an update to legal challenges against a Chicago police tactic involving traffic stops-turned-searches.

Critics call it “the new stop and frisk” while police leadership argue that it is a vital tool in keeping the city safe.

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The American Civil Liberties Union is asking for a judge to expand a lawsuit over traffic stops to include all Black and Latino drivers pulled over and searched since June 2021, amounting to tens of thousands of drivers.

Filed in 2023, the ACLU’s lawsuit alleges CPD’s use of minor traffic violation stops to search vehicles is by design, focused on drivers of color in South and West side neighborhoods.

The lawsuit seeks to ban these types of stops and searches moving forward.

SEE ALSO | Chicago police traffic stops skyrocket after CPD ends stop-and-frisk, data shows

ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer said if approved, it could significantly change the scope of the ACLU’s case.

The city of Chicago told ABC7 they do not comment on pending litigation, but in legal filings, the city has denied these allegations.

CPD Supt. Larry Snelling has told the I-Team he is working on “implementing a new traffic stop policy that is rooted in constitutional policing.”

READ MORE | Driven by Race: Chicago’s persistent problem of Black and white traffic stops