Following De Blasio Win, Local Leaders Call For City To Drop Stop-And-Frisk Appeal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio campaigned on a platform of overhauling the controversial NYPD stop-and-frisk policy.
Now that he's been elected, community leaders and elected officials rallied on the steps of City Hall demanding Mayor Michael Bloomberg drop his appeal of Judge Shira Scheindlin's ruling.
"Be remembered as someone who learned from their mistakes," City Councilman Jumaane Williams said Wednesday afternoon.
Following De Blasio Win, Local Leaders Call For City To Drop Stop-And-Frisk Appeal
Scheindlin's ruling is on hold and under review by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The judge had ruled in August the city's stop-and-frisk tactics were unconstitutional.
Mayor Bloomberg has consistently defended stop-and-frisk as a constitutional practice which has helped lower New York City's crime rate.
"You're going down in the flames of repudiation because you want to beg people to continue a racist policy," Williams said.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler urged the current administration to drop its appeal to save taxpayer money.
"Mayor-elect de Blasio ran on a platform of changing stop-and-frisk and the people overwhelmingly supported that yesterday, so I hope the administration realizes - number one - this is going to happen anyway in two months," said Nadler. "If the appeal is dropped now, the orders to institute certain reforms go into effect right away."
Following De Blasio Win, Local Leaders Call For City To Drop Stop-And-Frisk Appeal
Other local leaders said the Bloomberg administration should withdraw its appeal now that de Blasio's been elected.
"New Yorkers have said loud and clear, it is time to close the books on a tale of two cities," New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. "NYPD stop-and-frisk is out of control. It's about racial profiling and it violates the human rights and the constitutional rights of New Yorkers."
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