Dozens March And Protest Against NYPD's Stop And Frisk Policy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Dozens of demonstrators lined up near City Hall to protest the police department's stop, question and frisk policy.
The protesters also marched across the Brooklyn Bridge carrying signs that said "Stop Racist Policing" and "Don't Judge Us Based On Our Race."
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At the rally by City Hall Park, 16-year-old Justin Rosado told the crowd how he was stopped and frisked when he was just 13.
"This practice of stopping-frisking intimidating kids really angers me. I'm a kid who follows the rules, goes to school everyday and spends my free time trying to make my community a better place," he said. "But none of this matters because I'm young and and Latino."
The protesters sang along with musicians playing guitar as microphones amplified the sound on Broadway in downtown Manhattan Wednesday. The group says the policy unfairly targets black and Hispanic men.
The police stopped more than 500,000 people last year, mostly minorities, with about 10 percent of the stops resulting in arrests.
Department officials say the policy is a life-saving, necessary crime-fighting tool, especially in communities disproportionately affected by crime and especially among young men of color who last year represented 90 percent of murder victims and 96 percent of shooting victims in the city.
What do you think about the criticism of the stop and frisk policy? Share your thoughts in the comments section...
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