The New York Times: Don’t Let the Police Wreck Stop-and-Frisk Reforms

“Most people think we won the stop-and-frisk case in 2013, when a federal court ruled the New York City Police Department’s use of the practice was unconstitutional. But ultimate victory depends on whether we reform the police practices that drove unlawful stops and arrests.”

Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, Deputy Director of our Impact Litigation Practice, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights’ Darius Charney and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s Angel Harris, write about the thousands of people — people who were intimately impacted by stop and frisk — who gave their input into the design of police reforms as part of a court-ordered process. Their improvements to police discipline and supervision are now on the chopping block.

“The New York Police Department says it wants to improve community relations and build trust,” the editorial reads. “But it’s easier to go on a listening tour than to give the community power over policies. And it’s easier to talk about accountability than to earn trust through action. We can’t let the department choose the easy way out.”

Read the full piece here.