https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q5YeEF3QGuc
Following a judge’s ruling that New York City’s “Stop and Frisk” policy violates the Constitution, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans to appeal the decision because “we believed we weren’t getting a fair trial.”
Bloomberg and NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly dismissed accusations during an afternoon press conference that the program was a form of racial-profiling, which was the basis of the judge’s ruling. Kelly called the claims “offensive” and “recklessly untrue.” Bloomberg explained that the stops occur in neighborhoods where a crime has been reported, which disproportionately takes place in minority areas, but they are not based on race.
Both repeatedly cited the declining crime and murder rates over the last decade or two as proof of the policy’s effectiveness. Bloomberg and Kelly also emphasized the decrease in guns on the street.
Earlier today, a federal judge ruled that the policy was unconstitutional and appointed an independent monitor to oversee changes to the program rather than eliminate the program altogether.