THE CO U N CIL O F

THE

CITY

OF

N EW YO RK
FERNANDO CABRERA th 1 4 District Bronx Co-Chair

BLA CK, LA TIN O

ROBERT J ACKSON th 7 District Manhattan Co-Chair
J UMAANE D. WILLIAMS TH 45 District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair SARA GONZALEZ TH 38 District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair MARGARET CHIN ST 1 District - Manhattan Secretary RUBEN WILLS TH 28 District Q ueens Treasurer MARIA DEL CARMEN ARROYO 1 7th District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair HELEN DIANE FOSTER 1 6TH District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair CHARLES BARRON 42ND District Brooklyn LEROY COMRIE 27TH District Q ueens INEZ E. DICKENS 9TH District - Manhattan MATHIEU EUGENE 40 TH District Brooklyn J ULISSA FERRERAS TH 21 District - Q ueens LETITIA J AMES 35TH District Brooklyn ANDY KING 1 2th District Bronx PETER KOO 20 TH District - Q ueens MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO 8TH District Manhattan ERIK MARTIN-DILAN 37TH District Brooklyn DARLENE MEALY ST 41 District - Brooklyn ROSIE MENDEZ 2ND District Manhattan ANNABEL PALMA 1 8TH District Bronx DIANA REYNA 34 TH District Brooklyn DONOVAN RICHARDS st 31 District Queens J OEL RIVERA 1 5TH District Bronx YDANIS RODRIGUEZ 1 0 TH District Manhattan DEBORAH ROSE 49TH District Staten Island ALBERT VANN 36TH District Brooklyn ALEXANDER RIAS Director of BLAC Affairs

AND

A SIA N CA U CU S

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

CONTACT: Alex Rias, Director of the BLA Caucus ARias@council.nyc.gov

August 12th, 2013

BLACK, LATINO & ASIAN CAUCUS APPLAUDS JUDGES RULING: STOP, QUESTION & FRISK VIOLATES CONSTITUTION
New York, NY Today, Judge Shira Scheindlins ruling validates the years of work that has gone into exposing stop, question and frisk, in its current form, as unconstitutional. The judge deemed that the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of New Yorkers were violated by the New York Police Department and will take steps toward remedies. This decision has come in the wake of stop-andfrisk data that has grown exponentially over the past decade, saw nearly 90% of stops of Blacks and Latinos, and stopped innocent people at the rate of 88%. The Black, Latino and Asian Caucus (BLAC) of the New York City Council is proud to have been part of the effort on the legal, legislative and grassroots levels to ensure that the voices of the constituencies that we represent are heard loud and clear. We also applaud the judges decision to impose a federal monitor upon the Police department to keep tabs on the departments compliance with the Constitution. "I applaud Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin's ruling declaring the NYPD s stop, question and frisk policy to be unconstitutional. As someone who has spoken out consistently against this policy, the Judge's decision represents an absolute vindication of our belief that stop and frisk unfairly targeted people of color, and represented a violation of the Fourth Amendment which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, said Council Member Fernando Cabrera, Co-Chair of the BLAC. The judge was right. The administration has turned a blind eye to racial profiling. Perhaps if Bloomberg was a young, Black or Latino male, he would see the light. Today's ruling is further vindication that too many in our communities have been stripped of their civil liberties when it comes to strolling our sidewalks. From running to the bodega for a bag of groceries to coming home late from work, Blacks and Latinos have been senselessly stopped for too long. Now let's move forward with a real plan to keep our streets safe from illegal guns, says Council Member Robert Jackson, Co-Chair of the BLAC.

Page 1 of 2

THE CO U N CIL O F

THE

CITY

OF

N EW YO RK
FERNANDO CABRERA th 1 4 District Bronx Co-Chair

BLA CK, LA TIN O

ROBERT J ACKSON th 7 District Manhattan Co-Chair
J UMAANE D. WILLIAMS TH 45 District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair SARA GONZALEZ TH 38 District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair MARGARET CHIN ST 1 District - Manhattan Secretary RUBEN WILLS TH 28 District Q ueens Treasurer MARIA DEL CARMEN ARROYO 1 7th District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair HELEN DIANE FOSTER 1 6TH District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair CHARLES BARRON 42ND District Brooklyn LEROY COMRIE 27TH District Q ueens INEZ E. DICKENS 9TH District - Manhattan MATHIEU EUGENE 40 TH District Brooklyn J ULISSA FERRERAS TH 21 District - Q ueens LETITIA J AMES 35TH District Brooklyn ANDY KING 1 2th District Bronx PETER KOO 20 TH District - Q ueens MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO 8TH District Manhattan ERIK MARTIN-DILAN 37TH District Brooklyn DARLENE MEALY ST 41 District - Brooklyn ROSIE MENDEZ 2ND District Manhattan ANNABEL PALMA 1 8TH District Bronx DIANA REYNA 34 TH District Brooklyn DONOVAN RICHARDS st 31 District Queens J OEL RIVERA 1 5TH District Bronx YDANIS RODRIGUEZ 1 0 TH District Manhattan DEBORAH ROSE 49TH District Staten Island ALBERT VANN 36TH District Brooklyn ALEXANDER RIAS Director of BLAC Affairs

AND

A SIA N CA U CU S

Now, we continue to move forward. The judges decision speaks volumes in validating the push to override the Mayors veto of the Community Safety Act. This act would strengthen existing laws preventing bias-based policing and establish an NYPD Inspector General to monitor its policies. Clearly, this city needs protections in place to protect the constitutional rights of those of us who have been unjustly stopped over and over again; a reality that has widened the trust-gap between certain communities and the police. And while a federal monitor is needed and helpful, a permanent local solution is needed in the form of an inspector general. This oversight will ensure that the department continues to improve and does not backslide down the line. Public safety is a core need in our city. In order to successfully protect our communities, it takes partnerships and collaboration to keep our residents safe from harm and safe from abuses of their civil liberties. With the judges ruling and remedies, and the City Councils push to override the Mayors veto of vital legislation, we will all be a few steps closer to that goal. Together, we move forward. ###

Page 2 of 2