New York’s long-criticized “stop and frisk” policy got its comeuppance Monday when a federal court that the way city police were carrying it out violated the constitutional rights of minority citizens.
Despite the smackdown, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg , defended the practice and vowed to appeal.
The mayor would better serve his city if he were to focus on making the changes necessary to bring the program in line with the Constitution instead of blustering about how the judge
No wonder U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin felt compelled to order the hiring of an independent monitor.
The goal is to ensure cops make legal stops, based on “reasonable suspicion,” not vague guidelines that lead to high numbers of innocent black and Hispanic men being stopped and frisked by police.
Correcting this situation should be the next “cause” for a mayor who seems to have no small appetite for taking on the problems of the world.
