Bronx DA Adopts New Policy In Stop-Frisk Cases
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Bronx district attorney's office is no longer prosecuting people stopped at public housing projects under the city's stop-and-frisk policy unless the arresting officer ensures the arrest is warranted.
The DA's bureau chief, Jeannette Rucker, sent a letter to the NYPD saying arresting officers will now have to submit to an interview, according to The New York Times.
1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reports
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"Our objective is to seek the truth, when we don't have the ability to question the officers as to the specifics we don't always get the complete picture of what occurred," DA spokesman Steven Reid said in a statement.
The Times say prosecutors quietly adopted the new requirement in July after finding many people arrested for trespassing at housing projects were innocent.
The stop-frisk policy has been criticized for disproportionately targeting blacks and Hispanics.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Rucker overstated her perception of discrepancies regarding criminal trespass arrests. Nonetheless, he said the issue would be addressed at training sessions on how to conduct a lawful stop.
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