New Yorkers Illegally Searched And Stopped, According To Federal Monitor

New York City`s adoption of a tactic known as “stop and frisk” as part of a new effort to combat gun violence hurts communities of color and violates the law.

NYC ( Photo: Philadelphia Inquirer )

Only 41% of stops 32% of searches and 26% of searches are legitimate

Supervisor Mylan Denerstein said the NYPD special units deployed over the past 14 months to seize firearms in high-crime areas were involved in “unconstitutional policing” by stopping and searching too many people without good reason. The Neighborhood Safety Teams, which replace the crime-fighting teams that the NYPD disbanded in 2021 are deployed in 34 neighborhoods, mostly communities of color, that account for 80% of the city’s violent crimes. Denerstein said 97% of those who quit the team were black or Hispanic.

Spokesman Fabian Levy said the number of shootings had dropped since neighborhood security teams were formed

A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said city officials had serious concerns about Denerstein’s methodology and only learned of the findings after news outlets reported them. Despite their training and experience, officers assigned to neighborhood security teams generally appear to stop and harass individuals with insufficient levels of compliance. Too many people are illegally stopped, searched, and beaten. Black and Hispanic people remain the target of most stops accounting for 89% of all stops by 2022 according to NYPD data compiled by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

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