NY City Council Probes NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Policy

 By Black Radio Network Staff

                 NEW YORK – The New York City Council Civil Rights Committee has started a series of public hearings to investigate the NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk tactics.

                Residents appearing before the panel claim the police procedures mostly negatively impact on minority and gay people.

                Marlon Castro of activist group Make the Road NY, said “the NYPD shouldn’t discriminate again minority and gay people because of the way we look.”   Castro added “that these policing practices cause distrust and harm our faith in the police.” He said this makes us feel unsafe.

                Many of those testifying disputed contentions that the stop-and-frisk procedures were legally conducted based upon reasonable suspicion. 

                Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told our reporter that many of the victims of stop-and-frisk are targeted by police because of where they live, their religious beliefs, their gender and the color of their skin. She said she hopes “ City Council members take this matter seriously and stop these police abuses.”