FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2013

Contacts:

CJ Frogozo, cj@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 310 570 2622

Kayla Keller, kayla@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 281-682-6212

New York, NY — Yesterday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals delayed much needed reforms to the NYPD’s discriminatory Stop and Frisk policing and removed Judge Shira A. Schindelin from the case. This past June, Judge Scheindlin found that NYPD officers routinely disregarded the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment by subjecting tens of thousands of mostly Black and brown New Yorkers to searches without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

In response, Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org, the nation’s largest online civil rights organization and longtime critic of Stop and Frisk, issued the following statement:

“Despite New Yorkers’ surging opposition to Stop and Frisk, a federal court ruling, and the passage of landmark legislation, outgoing NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have continued to defend the discriminatory Stop and Frisk policing practice. We were outraged by the Bloomberg administration’s decision to file this frivolous appeal and with only two months left as mayor, Mr. Bloomberg seems intent on leaving a legacy of racial profiling and criminalization long after he’s left office.

“The true injustice at hand is the well chronicled and devastating impact of Stop and Frisk in New York. Judge Scheindlin’s initial ruling that the application of the program violated civil rights is a deeply held view by thousands of ColorOfChange members and millions of New Yorkers impacted by the program.

“Stop and Frisk can happen anywhere. That’s why we’ve launched our innovative police accountability tool — copwatchNYC.org — to encourage New Yorkers to safely and lawfully observe, record and report police officers engaged in abusive or unprofessional behavior, misconduct or discrimination. We remain focused on the deep and unjust impact of the NYPD’s discriminatory policing and this will not deter our members from continuing to monitor police and demand change in policing tactics that target our communities.”

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