Advocacy Groups File Lawsuit Alleging NYPD Continues To Use Stop-And-Frisk Policing Improperly
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some New Yorkers are suing the city and the NYPD over the controversial form of policing known as stop-and-frisk.
As CBS2's Lisa Rozner reports, they say it's still being used improperly, even years after a court-appointed monitor was put in place to develop and assess NYPD reforms.
"All of a sudden, it converts into an involuntary stop, right? 'What do you got in your pockets?'" said Jon McFarlane, a member of VOCAL-NY. "Since 2013, I have been stopped approximately eight times."
Eight years after a judge ruled New York City police violated the Constitution by stopping, questioning and frisking mostly Black and Hispanic people on the street, some allege it still goes on.
Outside One Police Plaza on Thursday, several groups -- including Communities United for Police Reform, the Legal Aid Society and the Center for Constitutional Rights -- announced they filed a motion asking the court for additional oversight measures.
"Sixty-six percent of the stops are for people they believe to have weapons. Ninety-three percent of the time, there are no weapons found," Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. "We cannot continue to use violence in communities as a way to abuse them."
The NYPD reported a little more than 9,500 stop-and-frisks in 2020, down from about 684,000 in 2011. There were about 13,500 stops in 2019.
But the groups say the court-appointed monitor, Peter Zimroth, isn't doing enough. They allege that in an October report, he found NYPD officers failed to document nearly half of all stops.
"It is ironic to me and sad to me that that table of experts discussing police reform is shutting out the real experts on this subject, which are the communities impacted by this process every day," said Corey Stoughton, with the Legal Aid Society.
"For the last year, his assessments have completely excluded the community and so we felt if we don't act now, it'll be hard to reverse things later," said Darius Charney, senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The groups want a judge to appoint a seven-member community collaborative board that will advise the monitor and the court on NYPD reforms. It would be comprised of residents of public housing and members of police watchdog organizations.
They also want community surveys to be conducted twice a year by an independent researcher to assess public perception of how police conduct stops.
The new board would also appoint someone to conduct bi-annual field audits of NYPD stop-and-frisk activity.
When reached by phone, Zimroth said, "It's inappropriate for any lawyer before the court to comment on a pending motion."
The NYPD declined to comment as well.
