New Ruling Lets NYPD Continue “Stop-And-Frisk”
Thursday, a federal appeals court blocked a ruling curtailing the New York Police Department’s controversial “Stop-and-Frisk” policy.
The U.S. Second Court of Appeals halted a U.S. District Court ruling ordering that a monitor oversee the “Stop-and-Frisk” policy and alter a related training program.
The program, which allows NYPD officers to routinely stop passersby and pat them down for weapons with little or no cause, has been heavily criticized for disproportionately targeting blacks and Latinos in poor areas. Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has even come out against the program for that very reason, vowing to reduce its use if elected stating, “We have to end the overuse of stop and frisk—and any delay only means a continued and unnecessary rift between our police and the people they protect.”
While New York uses “Stop-and-Frisk” more widely, several other police departments across the country are bringing to follow their lead. Had the ruling not been blocked, police departments in these cities would have been forced to reexamine their policies and tread more carefully in their tactics.
