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By Colin Campbell 7/12/12 2:38pm

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(Photo: NY1)

Jumaane Williams: There’s A ‘Nugget of Truth’ in Ray Kelly’s Pol Criticism

“I’m talking about political leadership, they’re not out there talking about the problem,” NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said on Inside City Hall last night, defending his department’s use of the controversial stop-and-frisk policy. “They’re not out there talking about, ‘Hey, we have a lot of young men of color shooting each other.’ You don’t hear that spoken about openly. You do hear unhappiness with the tactics and strategies that we use.”

The host, Errol Louis, interjected to argue that elected officials do indeed talk about violence, and not just problems with the NYPD, causing Mr. Kelly to retort, “Well, you’re not reporting it. They do report it when they criticize the police though, certainly on New York 1.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/18/12 9:00am

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Reverend Al Sharpton at the march to end stop and frisk.

Political Opponents Of Stop And Frisk Explain Why And How They Want The Policy To End

Among the thousands who turned out to march down Fifth Avenue in protest of the NYPD’s stop and frisk policy Sunday were several prominent political opponents of the practice, which saw police stop over 685,000 people, the vast majority of whom were people of color, while collecting 780 guns. Likely candidates in next year’s mayoral election have focused on reforming some elements of the controversial policy, but many of the leaders who participated in the march explained to The Politicker that they want stop and frisk ended entirely.

“I don’t know how you can keep it and take the quotas and the profiling out of it and, therefore, I think they need an entirely new program. I don’t know how you mend something based on quotas and race,” said Reverend Al Sharpton, one of the organizers of the march. Read More

By Margaret Nickens 6/18/12 8:35am

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The protestor who identified herself as Christina Gonzales was handcuffed and carried to a police van.

Thousands Gather To Protest NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk Policy

After two hours of marching, the crowd was tired of being quiet. Beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, the diverse group of activists silently trudged nearly 30 blocks down 5th avenue, solemnly protesting the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy. Nearly 40,000 people came to the protest in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell and other victims of allegedly racist policing practices, according to Derek Turner, a NAACP spokesperson.

Around 5 p.m., the protestors reached 79th street, the planned ending place for the march due to its proximity to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s home. Pin-adorned, sign-touting demonstrators began to restlessly pack into the street and sidewalks surrounding the area. No longer pleased with the stubborn quietness of the event, a few anxious protestors began to chant; they were barely audible in such a large crowd. Eventually, two men took over with the assistance of the microphone yelling, “We can’t be silent. We’ve got to fight back. The killer cuffs us. We’ve got to fight back.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/14/12 5:05pm

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Dan Garodnick (photo: council.nyc.gov)

Dan Garodnick Comes Out Against Stop-and-Frisk Too

In yet one more sign of the political winds shifting against stop-and-frisk, another candidate for citywide office has come out against the current practices of the NYPD tactic today. East Side Councilman Dan Garodnick, a top contender for Comptroller John Liu’s job in 2013, penned a letter to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly asking him to “firmly commit to revisiting this practice, reducing the overall number and disproportionate application of stops made each year and ensuring that stops are based on individualized reasonable suspicion.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/07/12 4:04pm

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NYPD

Eric Holder Discussing Plans For NYPD Stop And Frisk Investigation

A delegation of elected officials from New York is currently in Washington D.C. to express their concerns about the NYPD’s controversial stop and frisk policy and ask the Department of Justice to investigate the program as a civil rights violation.

Multiple sources have confirmed to The Politicker that Attorney General Eric Holder met with leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday to discuss the issue. A source on Capitol Hill also told us that, at that meeting, Mr. Holder expressed his interest in investigating stop and frisk. Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/07/12 1:01pm

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Members of the stop and frisk delegation including State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Councilwoman Mellissa Mark-Viverito and Assemblyman Karim Camara meeting with officials in Washington.

New York Politicians Take D.C. Road Trip To Push For Stop And Frisk Investigation

A number of New York City and State elected officials are in Washington D.C. this afternoon to address their concerns about the NYPD’s controversial stop and frisk policy. They are calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the NYPD’s use of stop and frisk as a civil rights violation.  The NYPD stopped a record number of people last year, the vast majority of whom were minorities.

“New Yorkers are fed up with this policy that continually targets our communities,” Assemblyman Karim Camara, Chairman of the New York State Black Puerto Rican Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus said in a statement. “The numbers tell a tragic story. One recent report said that more young black men were stopped than actually lived in the city.  We cannot get away from the fact that there is implicit racial bias in this tactic used by the NYPD.  Since City officials refuse to listen, we are taking our cause to Washington.  It’s time for some high-powered back up to advocate for the civil rights of New Yorkers.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/05/12 3:29pm

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(Photo: Wikimedia)

LGBT Pols to Rally Against Stop-and-Frisk

At a news conference taking place later today to push for reforms to the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, a plethora of LGBT elected officials and candidates will be sending their support as well. Joining advocates at the historic Stonewall Inn will be Council Speaker Christine Quinn, representatives from every gay or lesbian council member in the city, and Assemblyman Matt Titone.

The press conference in many ways represents the expanding base of support advocates against stop-and-frisk have been able to accumulate. Previously, support for changing the NYPD tactic was generally confined to elected officials in — or seeking to represent — the black and Latino communities that are most affected by the policy. Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/17/12 12:01pm

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Christine Quinn (Photo: Facebook)

Christine Quinn Announces Stop-and-Frisk Changes

As the tension over the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies escalates and various mayoral contenders are leaping out to get in front of this issue, Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced changes “in response to my letter and calls from others seeking reforms to stop and frisk procedures.” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced, Ms. Quinn said in a statement, “changes to officer training, monitoring, supervision, transparency, and accountability.”

While it’s not particularly clear if anything is necessarily being done to reduce the total number of stop-and-frisks, there will now be additional training and increased reaction to complaints about any officers accused of misconduct. In Ms. Quinn’s original letter requesting reforms, she requested “cultural sensitivity” training, which may be what Mr. Kelly will now be implementing, in some form. Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/11/12 8:38am

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(Photo: Getty)

Bloomberg: Stop-and-Frisk Is Supposed to Act As A Deterrent

On Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s appearance on John Gambling’s radio show this morning, Mr. Bloomberg defended the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk policies from critics who are pointing to the fact that as the number of stops has increased from 160,000 a year in 2003 to 685,000 last year, the percentage of stops to yield a gun has also dropped off significantly.

“What we do know is that the number of guns that we’ve been finding has continued to go down which says that the program at this scale is doing a great job,” Mr. Bloomberg said when Mr. Gambling asked what the right number of stops is. “The whole idea here John is not to catch people with guns it’s to prevent people from carrying guns.”

Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/09/12 4:24pm

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(Photo: Getty)

John Liu Calls for Stop-and-Frisk’s Abolishment as Mayor’s Office and Bill de Blasio Spar

As the news cycle spirals around President Barack Obama coming out in support of gay marriage, news surrounding stop-and-frisk politics has also come cascading down after Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a potential candidate for mayor in 2013, upped his criticism this afternoon. Notably, Comptroller John Liu, also a likely mayoral candidate, has gone one step beyond his rivals, who have argued that some stop-and-frisk tactics should remain as a police tool, and called for the policy to end completely.

“While it is true that stop-and-frisk has gotten some guns and criminals off the streets, it’s also true that stop-and-frisk continues to deepen the chasm between communities and police, relationship that is vital to maintaining a safe and secure city for all New Yorkers,” Mr. Liu said in a statement today. “Stop and frisk should be abolished.” Read More