US court rules against stop-and-frisk

A United States federal district judge this morning ruled against the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) policy of stop-and-frisk against Caribbean immigrants, blacks and other minorities.



In a ruling in Manhattan Federal District Court, Judge Shira Scheindlin said the policy was unconstitutional and appointed a monitor to reform the practice.



She said the city adopted a policy of indirect racial profiling by targeting racially defined groups for stops based on local crime suspect data.



She also rejected the NYPD’s claim that more stops occur in minority neighborhoods because of alleged high-crime rates there.



The Judge concluded that the city’s highest officials have turned a blind eye to the evidence that officers are conducting stops in a racially discriminatory manner.



However, she made it clear that she was not ordering an end to the practice of stop-and-frisk,” noting that the US Supreme Court had ruled that the tactic was constitutionally permissible under certain conditions.



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