Black drivers in Suffolk County are more likely to get pulled over for minor offenses than white drivers, according to a new study.The analysis of racial disparities by the Vera Institute of Justice looked at police traffic stops over the last 10 years.Using data from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the study found Black drivers are disproportionately pulled over by police, especially for minor things that it calls non-traffic-safety offenses."So these minor traffic violations like tinted mirrors or a broken single headlight or something that's very minor and has no issue with safety for other people outside the vehicle," said Seleeke Flingai, a senior research associate at Vera.Black drivers were pulled over at 2.3 times the rate of white drivers in Suffolk County for these types of minor offenses.In Boston, Black drivers were stopped at 3.9 times the rate of white drivers.In Winthrop, the pullover rate for Black drivers was 8.9 times higher than white drivers."I've often heard about driving while Black, something very minor, that if you do that, the Black driver, you feel that you're more at risk of being stopped," said Flingai. "What we see and the impact of these stops is that Black drivers are disproportionately stopped and held at a higher level of scrutiny."Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden released the following statement: "As a Black man raising two Black teenagers, and as a longtime law enforcement professional, I’m fully aware of areas where we do well and areas where we must improve. I thank the Vera Institute for publishing this enlightening report and I hope our law enforcement partners take a close look at its findings and its recommendations, as my office is doing. I have always believed that residents want to feel safe and that they want safety measures to be provided in a manner that is fair, equitable and free of bias."Vera is calling on elected officials to pass ordinances to prevent police from pulling drivers over for minor non-traffic-safety violations like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have done."We believe that it's one that one of the main ways that it can limit these potentially dangerous interactions that are very minor," said Flingai. A spokesman for Boston Police says the department needs to review the study before commenting.5 Investigates also contacted Winthrop police but have not heard back.