CONTROVERSIAL NYPD STOP & FRISK TACTICS GOES ON TRIAL

Stop and frisk went on trial Monday.

The NYPD's controversial tactic is being challenged as unconstitutional in a class action lawsuit on behalf of four New Yorkers who claim they were stopped for no reason.

"We're putting the NYPD on trial, and the stakes are the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers," said Vincent Warren, director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the suit in 2008.

Warren is seeking a court-appointed monitor to keep tabs on how the police make stops and other reforms aimed at protecting the civil rights of targeted individuals.

The trial, which is expected to last over a month, will draw testimony from cops, lawmakers, constitutional experts, and 11 black or bi-racial New York men - and one Hispanic woman - who say they were victimized.

The chief plaintiff is David Floyd, a Bronx medical student who said he was stopped twice for no reason, according to the suit.

The highlight, however, is likely to be audiotapes made by a Brooklyn cop named Adrian Schoolcraft who claims he was hauled off to a psych ward to discredit his allegations that the 81st Precinct pushed officers to fill arrest quotas.

His former commanding officers are also expected to be put on the stand.

The legality of warrantless stops in high-crime areas is not in question in Floyd versus the City of New York.

Nor can Manhattan federal court Judge Shira Scheindlin ban stop and frisk as a police procedure. But she has the power to order reforms that will directly affect how the NYPD polices the city - from the beat cop on up.

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly have defended stop and frisk and have argued the tactic has made New York City safer and driven down crime rates to all-time lows by ridding the streets of illegal guns.

"All of the NYPD's policing practices - including making arrests, conducting investigations, and detaining and questioning people who act suspiciously - are directed at preventing crime and promoting public safety citywide," said city Law Department attorney Celeste Koeleveld.

But critics say the tactic unfairly targets black and Hispanic men and has figured in police killings of teenagers like the recent fatal shooting of 16-year-old Kimani (Kiki) Gray.

Cops say Gray was packing heat. His family insists he wasn't. The case remains under investigation.

You got NYPD cops out there planning on cooking & eating over a 100 women!

Being that I live in a "High Crime" area which is labeled a "Weed & Seed" community I see this sh!t everyday!

They have a right to jump out on you if you look suspicious! But what's suspicious you might ask? Any black or latino male from the ages of 17 to 47 is suspicious to the NYPD!

Don't come outside with your hoodie on & god forbid you don't have your ID!

If the "Jump Out Boys" stop you & you don't have your ID they can arrest you for trespassing if your coming out of your building or if you were there visiting a friend. You argue with them & get hit with additional charges like Disorderly Conduct & Resisting Arrest!

I had to sit in the Bronx Courthouse one weekend & saw over 70 people brought before a judge with the same charges. After awhile the judge got tired & started asking "What was your reason in the first place for stopping them?" And the DA says in the NYPD report it said they looked suspicious. SMH!

Stop & Frisk Is Pure Bullsh!t! It just gives cops the right to violate your civil rights while filling their quotas to keep their jobs!

SOURCE