Forum/Discussions

Today: Stop-and-Frisk Class Certification Granted!

May 21: Stop-and-Frisk Event in NYC - Watch it LIVE!

June 14: Save the Date for Solitary Confinement Event in San Francisco.

Today, a federal judge granted class certification in a lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) stop-and-frisk practices as unconstitutional and racially discriminatory.  The ruling will allow all persons unlawfully stopped and frisked since January 2005 to be plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  In 2011, the NYPD reported a record 685,724 stops—a 600 percent increase since Raymond Kelly took over as NYPD commissioner in 2002. Eighty-four percent of those stopped were Black or Latino, and 88 percent of persons stopped were not arrested, nor did they receive summonses. The numbers for the first quarter of 2012 show yet another record rate of stops—over 203,500 between January and March, an average of 2,200 per day. At the current rate, the NYPD is on track to stop over 730,000 New Yorkers this year—more than 40,000 stops over the record-setting annual stops in 2011.

The lawsuit is Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al.  and challenges stop-and-frisk as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits racially-discriminatory policing, as well as a violation of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. Floyd stems from the Center for Constitutional Rights’ landmark racial profiling case, Daniels, et al. v. City of New York, et al., which led to the disbanding of the NYPD’s infamous Street Crime Unit and a settlement with the City in 2003. The plaintiffs are represented by the Center of Constitutional Rights (CCR), and the law firms of Beldock, Levine, and Hoffman and Covington & Burling, LLP.

Join us Monday, May 21, 2012, at 7:30 pm EDT for a critical conversation about the NYPD's stop, question and frisk policy. Presented by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Culture Project, and Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), panelists will discuss the history of the policy, its impact on communities of color and implications for policing practices nationwide. Featuring CCR Executive Director Vincent Warren and special guest Rha Goddess!

Not in the New York Metro Area? Watch the event LIVE on our event page!

BLUEPRINT FOR ACCOUNTABILITY: NYPD's Stop and Frisk Policy
When: Monday, May 21, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Where: Culture Project (45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY, 10012)
Admission: FREE! Reserve your tickets here or call 212-388-0758! Donations gratefully accepted.