Federal monitor: Too many people in NYC are stopped, searched and frisked illegally

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal monitor says she has found disappointing results when she studied the legality of New York City’s new initiative to combat gun violence in high-crime areas with an old tactic of stopping and frisking people. Monitor Mylan Denerstein says that teams of officers deployed in 34 areas where 80 percent of the city’s violent crime is reported are largely in communities of color. She says over 97 percent of those stopped are Black or Hispanic. In one police precinct, she says, only 26 percent of searches were lawful. A mayoral spokesperson says the city will strive to do better.