FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 30, 2014

Contacts:

Tim Rusch, Tim@FitzGibbonMedia.com, 917-399-0236

CJ Frogozo, CJ@FitzGibbonMedia.com, 310 570 2622

New York, NY — Historic reforms of New York City’s Stop and Frisk program are set to move forward after newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to drop the city’s shameful appeal of the landmark case Floyd v. City of New York, originally appealed by Stop and Frisk proponent former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Reforms will include a three year court appointed federal monitor to oversee changes to NYPD racial profiling trainings and overall-implementation of Stop and Frisk, as well as the enforcement of new reform ideas seeded from community town-hall meetings and feedback forms.

ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson issued the following statement:

“We greatly applaud Mayor de Blasio’s decision to do the right thing and allow these much needed reforms to move forward. Even more so, we applaud the commitment, hard work, and courage of those who have worked for years to give voice to the inhumanity of Stop and Frisk and ensure change.”

“Thousands of ColorOfChange members have demanded an end to the NYPD’s unconstitutional Stop and Frisk program, helping to secure today’s victory, which has been years in the making. Discriminatory policing and police brutality continue to unjustly impact Black and brown communities on a daily basis, and our members are committed to supporting similar victories across the country. New York City has long influenced national conversation around policing strategies, which makes today’s news a particularly incredible step in the right direction.”

“There remains important work ahead to ensure the enforcement of these reforms, but we are hopeful and confident that the unique community partnership that helped make this policy change happen will also ensure long-term accountability for their enforcement.”

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With more than 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.