Mayor Bloomberg’s comment about stop-and-frisk on his weekly radio show sparked major backlash from community leaders and politicians — the outrage stemming from hundreds of thousands of stops each year that result in arrests only about 10% of the time.
About 90% of those stopped are minority males.
Now Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is calling for a federal monitor to oversee the practice and the NYPD.
“The only way to restore order and respect for the constitution is for the justice department to step in as a court appointed federal monitor to protect the civil-rights of the Black and Latino community here in New York City,” Rep. Jeffries said.
Jeffries isn’t the first one to call for a federal monitor over stop-and-frisk.
Attorney General Eric Holder said he would support the oversight if a federal court judge finds the practice unconstitutional.
That trial wrapped up in May, but the judge gave no timetable for her ruling.
Even if the judge rules that stop-and-frisk is unconstitutional, Congressman Jeffries says without a federal monitor, Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly would be in charge of enforcing a ban on the practice. And Jeffries says, in light of the Mayor’s recent comments, clearly he’s not ready for that responsibility.
“It’s sad that we’ve reached a point where there’s no other place to turn than the federal government,” Jeffries said.
If the Department of Justice does appoint a federal monitor he or she would be able to enforce federal civil rights laws.
That’s a step up from an Inspector General position, recently approved by City Council, which will only be able to monitor the police department.
