T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, today praised U.S. District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s decision deeming the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practice a violation of the constitutional rights of minorities in the city and calling for a federal monitor to oversee reforms in the NYPD.
“This ruling sends a strong message,” said Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, T’ruah’s Director of North American Programs. “It says the NYPD has crossed a line in its zeal to fight crime, and unfairly targeted black and Hispanic people for undue scrutiny. The decision affirms the rights of all New Yorkers to feel safe in the streets.”
T’ruah and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) have long argued for better accountability in the NYPD. The practice of stop-and-frisk which singles out communities of color, does not result in finding illegal guns and reducing other crimes, but instead damages and frightens New York’s citizens. Today the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed.
“T’ruah urges the City of New York to make the necessary changes in NYPD tactics laid out in Judge Scheindlin’s 195-page decision,” Kahn-Troster said. “We also fully support the Community Safety Act, a landmark legislative police reform package passed by the New York City Council earlier this year, with the goal of ending discriminatory policing and bringing accountability to the NYPD.”