The New York Police Department violated the
Constitution with its practice of stopping and searching people suspected of
criminal activity, a federal judge ruled Monday in a decision likely to lead
police departments across the country to take a close look at their
crime-fighting tactics.
Finding that New York City's so-called
stop-and-frisk program amounted to "indirect racial profiling" by
targeting blacks and Hispanics disproportionate to their populations, U.S.
District Judge Shira Scheindlin ordered the installation of the department's
first-ever independent monitor to oversee changes to
its practices. City officials have argued that stop-and-frisk is a key component
in their largely successful efforts to fight crime, but opponents have
criticized it as a blatant violation of civil rights.
New York City
officials immediately criticized the decision. "No federal judge has ever
imposed a monitor over a city's police department following a civil
trial," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He said the city didn't receive a fair trial, citing comments
from the judge that he said "telegraphed her intentions," and he said
the city would seek an immediate stay while appealing the decision.
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