Ray Kelly Defends Stop-and-Frisk: ‘Violence Is Happening Disproportionately in Minority Communities’

NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly continued to speak up in support of New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy, which was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge last week. Stop-and-frisk was also criticized in the ruling for leading to “indirect racial profiling.”

“The stark reality is that violence is happening disproportionately in minority communities,” Kelly said on Meet the Press. “And that unfortunately is in big cities throughout America. We have record low numbers of murders in New York City, record low numbers of shootings, we’re doing something right to save lives.”

He struck a similar note on ABC’s This Week, saying, “What we’re doing — and what we’re trying to do — is save lives,” with stop-and-frisk.