Our police commissioner and his chief cheerleader, the mayor, have forgotten or never learned that the Constitution would not have been allowed to work until the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments, introduced by James Madison) were added.
(Reuters) - A black New York City councilman who said he has been stopped by police on numerous occasions introduced a set of bills on Wednesday aimed at curbing the controversial crime-fighting tactic known as "stop and frisk."
The bills would require officers to identify themselves and present a business card when stopping a person, and to inform targets of their right to refuse a search. A third bill would expand the number of groups protected from racial profiling.
A coalition of City Council members and advocates led by Councilman Jumaane Williams of Brooklyn introduced Wednesday a package of police reform bills the group says will bring greater accountability to the NYPD.
The elected officials and advocates who stood outside City Hall on Wednesday form a group called Communities United For Police Reform, which intends to make police reform a major issue in the upcoming mayoral election.
Criticism of the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices have come from a wide range of elected officials and advocacy groups across the city.