Saturday, August 17, 2013 5:36:05 AM
New York City Appeals Stop-And-Frisk Ruling
Police officers walk through the Brownsville Houses in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013.
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
By COLLEEN LONG
08/16/13 02:51 PM ET EDT
NEW YORK -- New York City officials have taken the first step in appealing a federal judge's ruling imposing reforms on the police department's stop-and-frisk strategy after finding the policy intentionally singled out minorities.
The city Law Department filed a notice of appeal Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
"We have moved ahead with our formal filings," said Michael A. Cardozo, head of the city Law Department. "The mayor, the police commissioner and the city vowed to press forward immediately with an appeal – and we have done so. The safety of all New Yorkers is at stake."
Lawyers now have about three months to file the formal brief.
Officers have made about 5 million stops in the past decade under the program, mostly of black and Hispanic men. About half are frisked. Only about 10 percent end in arrest and a weapon is recovered a fraction of the time.
A class-action lawsuit argued the department was wrongly targeting minorities and that officers were pressured to make stops by their superiors.
Judge Shira Scheindlin agreed in a lengthy opinion issued Monday, finding that police made street stops based on race. She ordered changes to officer training, discipline and supervision and appointed an outside monitor to supervise and come up with specifics on how the changes will work. She made specific changes to the form the officers fill out when recording a stop, and ordered a yearlong pilot program of body-worn cameras in one precinct per borough where the most stops occur.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called ruling unfair and warned that it will damage the NYPD's successes in fighting violent crime.
© 2013 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/stop-and-frisk-appeal_n_3770254.html [with comments]
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Fingerprint NYCHA Residents, Says Mayor Michael Bloomberg
By JONATHAN LEMIRE
08/16/13 04:19 PM ET EDT
NEW YORK — New York City public housing tenants should be fingerprinted as a way of keeping criminals out of their buildings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested Friday, adding that the buildings often had broken locks that allowed trespassers in.
His remark appeared offhanded, and the city is not working on a program that would have building doors only open by a resident's fingerprint. But the comment, which comes just days after a key Bloomberg public safety measure was deemed unconstitutional, immediately drew criticism from several candidates battling to be City Hall's next occupant.
Bloomberg, speaking during his weekly appearance on WOR Radio, was musing that a court decision this week to limit the police tactic known as stop-and-frisk may make it more difficult for officers to protect New York City Housing Authority buildings.
Bloomberg believes stop-and-frisk has driven down crime. Its critics say the measure – which allows police to stop people deemed acting suspiciously – unfairly discriminates against black and Latinos, the same groups that make up the bulk of public housing residents.
Within an hour, mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson derided the fingerprinting idea as "disrespectful" and "disgraceful."
"Just like stop-and-frisk, this is another direct act of treating minorities like criminals," said Thompson, a former city comptroller, in a statement. "Mayor Bloomberg wants to make New Yorkers feel like prisoners in their own homes."
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who has moved to the top of Democratic primary polls, called Bloomberg "out of touch" and urged the mayor to instead install security cameras within the buildings, which house more than 400,000 people.
Critics also said the idea echoed the Bloomberg administration's 2012 plan to require fingerprints from food stamp applicants. Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned that idea.
Bloomberg's spokesman later explained that the city is planning to install electronic key pads and key card locks on buildings to improve security. He also noted that fingerprint scan technology is becoming more common and is expected to be coming to smartphones.
The city is fighting U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin's ruling imposing reforms on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. She also has ordered changes to an NYPD patrol program inside private buildings.
Associated Press writer Ula Ilnytzky contributed to this report.
© 2013 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/fingerprints-nycha_n_3769213.html [with comments]
--
(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=91117368 and preceding (and any future following)
Police officers walk through the Brownsville Houses in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013.
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
By COLLEEN LONG
08/16/13 02:51 PM ET EDT
NEW YORK -- New York City officials have taken the first step in appealing a federal judge's ruling imposing reforms on the police department's stop-and-frisk strategy after finding the policy intentionally singled out minorities.
The city Law Department filed a notice of appeal Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
"We have moved ahead with our formal filings," said Michael A. Cardozo, head of the city Law Department. "The mayor, the police commissioner and the city vowed to press forward immediately with an appeal – and we have done so. The safety of all New Yorkers is at stake."
Lawyers now have about three months to file the formal brief.
Officers have made about 5 million stops in the past decade under the program, mostly of black and Hispanic men. About half are frisked. Only about 10 percent end in arrest and a weapon is recovered a fraction of the time.
A class-action lawsuit argued the department was wrongly targeting minorities and that officers were pressured to make stops by their superiors.
Judge Shira Scheindlin agreed in a lengthy opinion issued Monday, finding that police made street stops based on race. She ordered changes to officer training, discipline and supervision and appointed an outside monitor to supervise and come up with specifics on how the changes will work. She made specific changes to the form the officers fill out when recording a stop, and ordered a yearlong pilot program of body-worn cameras in one precinct per borough where the most stops occur.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called ruling unfair and warned that it will damage the NYPD's successes in fighting violent crime.
© 2013 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/stop-and-frisk-appeal_n_3770254.html [with comments]
--
Fingerprint NYCHA Residents, Says Mayor Michael Bloomberg
By JONATHAN LEMIRE
08/16/13 04:19 PM ET EDT
NEW YORK — New York City public housing tenants should be fingerprinted as a way of keeping criminals out of their buildings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested Friday, adding that the buildings often had broken locks that allowed trespassers in.
His remark appeared offhanded, and the city is not working on a program that would have building doors only open by a resident's fingerprint. But the comment, which comes just days after a key Bloomberg public safety measure was deemed unconstitutional, immediately drew criticism from several candidates battling to be City Hall's next occupant.
Bloomberg, speaking during his weekly appearance on WOR Radio, was musing that a court decision this week to limit the police tactic known as stop-and-frisk may make it more difficult for officers to protect New York City Housing Authority buildings.
Bloomberg believes stop-and-frisk has driven down crime. Its critics say the measure – which allows police to stop people deemed acting suspiciously – unfairly discriminates against black and Latinos, the same groups that make up the bulk of public housing residents.
Within an hour, mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson derided the fingerprinting idea as "disrespectful" and "disgraceful."
"Just like stop-and-frisk, this is another direct act of treating minorities like criminals," said Thompson, a former city comptroller, in a statement. "Mayor Bloomberg wants to make New Yorkers feel like prisoners in their own homes."
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who has moved to the top of Democratic primary polls, called Bloomberg "out of touch" and urged the mayor to instead install security cameras within the buildings, which house more than 400,000 people.
Critics also said the idea echoed the Bloomberg administration's 2012 plan to require fingerprints from food stamp applicants. Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned that idea.
Bloomberg's spokesman later explained that the city is planning to install electronic key pads and key card locks on buildings to improve security. He also noted that fingerprint scan technology is becoming more common and is expected to be coming to smartphones.
The city is fighting U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin's ruling imposing reforms on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. She also has ordered changes to an NYPD patrol program inside private buildings.
Associated Press writer Ula Ilnytzky contributed to this report.
© 2013 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/fingerprints-nycha_n_3769213.html [with comments]
--
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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
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