Mayor Bloomberg hails federal appeals court ruling that blocked sweeping reforms to the Police Department's stop-and-frisk policy
Bloomberg calls the decision a vindication, but he expresses concern that his successor will drop the city's appeal of a ruling that said the NYPD's stop-and-frisk tactics violated the constitutional rights of minorities
Comments (7)By Jemmifer Fermino / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, November 1, 2013, 10:38 AM
CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS
Mayor Bloomberg on Friday voiced satisfication that a federal appeals court blocked court-ordered changes to the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy,
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A "very satisfied" Mayor Bloomberg said Friday he agreed with the federal appeals court ruling that halted changes to the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy, but he admitted the decision might not matter once his successor takes office.
Bloomberg, in his first comment on Thursday's ruling, said the decision showed the city had been right in defending the stop-and-frisk policy, which a lower-court judge ruled unconstitutional in August.
"It speaks for itself. It says basically that Commissioner (Ray) Kelly can run the department the way he has been running it, with my approval and support for the last 12 years," Bloomberg said on his weekly appearance on the John Gambling show on WOR-AM.
He said the unanimous decision was also a huge pat on the back to the men and women of the NYPD, who were accused of conducting large-scale racial profiling in their application of the policy, he said.
The ruling “was unequivocal. And our police — remember a majority of them are black and Hispanic in this city — they've had their names dragged through the mud over the past year. And I think they deserve a lot better than that," he said.
Bloomberg said the decision to grant the city a stay - effectively barring the reforms ordered by the lower court until the end of the appeal - shows that the appeals court is leaning towards siding with the NYPD.
The sweeping changes ordered by the lower court judge, Shira Scheindlin, included a federal monitor to oversee the department’s reform of its stop-and-frisk tactics.
Scheindlin said the implementation of the stop and frisk tactic had violated the constitutional rights of minorities.
"Its important to say that judges grant stays if they think there's a high probability that an appeal will be successful," Bloomberg said.
But whether the appeal continues is unclear.
The appellate court won't make a decision on the city's case until well into 2014, when Bloomberg is out of office.
Democratic nominee Bill de Blasio, who has a huge lead in the polls, has said he will drop the appeal as soon as he takes office.
His Republican challenger Joe Lhota has said he'll continue the appeal.
"It'll be up to the next mayor to decide what to do," Bloomberg said.
The appeals court in its decision also removed Scheindlin, a Manhattan federal court judge from the case, saying she violated impartiality rules by talking to the media and in some of her instructions to the plaintiffs. Scheindlin has denied wrongdoing.
But her removal could mean that the appeals court will vacate her previous decision finding the policy unconstitutional, and pave the way for a new trial.
When Scheindlin had initially ruled against the city, Bloomberg railed that she "ignored the real world realities of crime." His remarks on her were more muted on Friday.
"We said a number of times we thought the judge was not giving us the opportunity to present our case, and to explain what the Police Department does. How we decide who to stop, and question, and sometimes frisk. We didn't get a chance to explain the tactics, and the results that come from it," Bloomberg said.
Kelly, whose crime-fighting legacy has taken a serious hit because of allegations that the stop-and-frisk program violated people's civil rights, made a rare appearance on the Gambling show with the mayor.
He said nothing is expected to change at the NYPD while he is still in charge.
"The officers will continue to do an outstanding job," he said.
Kelly, who was booed off stage at an appearance at Brown University in Rhode Island earlier this week by anti-stop-and-frisk protesters, was asked if the stop-and-frisk controversy has been "difficult" for him personally.
The former Marine deflected the question, saying, “I think it was grossly unfair as far as the department is concerned."
"They've done a terrific job and they were unfairly blemished in all of this, and a lot of it for sheer political purposes. So maybe this clears up some of that. We'll see."
Bloomberg, in his first comment on Thursday's ruling, said the decision showed the city had been right in defending the stop-and-frisk policy, which a lower-court judge ruled unconstitutional in August.
"It speaks for itself. It says basically that Commissioner (Ray) Kelly can run the department the way he has been running it, with my approval and support for the last 12 years," Bloomberg said on his weekly appearance on the John Gambling show on WOR-AM.
He said the unanimous decision was also a huge pat on the back to the men and women of the NYPD, who were accused of conducting large-scale racial profiling in their application of the policy, he said.
The ruling “was unequivocal. And our police — remember a majority of them are black and Hispanic in this city — they've had their names dragged through the mud over the past year. And I think they deserve a lot better than that," he said.
Bloomberg said the decision to grant the city a stay - effectively barring the reforms ordered by the lower court until the end of the appeal - shows that the appeals court is leaning towards siding with the NYPD.
The sweeping changes ordered by the lower court judge, Shira Scheindlin, included a federal monitor to oversee the department’s reform of its stop-and-frisk tactics.
Scheindlin said the implementation of the stop and frisk tactic had violated the constitutional rights of minorities.
But whether the appeal continues is unclear.
The appellate court won't make a decision on the city's case until well into 2014, when Bloomberg is out of office.
Democratic nominee Bill de Blasio, who has a huge lead in the polls, has said he will drop the appeal as soon as he takes office.
His Republican challenger Joe Lhota has said he'll continue the appeal.
"It'll be up to the next mayor to decide what to do," Bloomberg said.
The appeals court in its decision also removed Scheindlin, a Manhattan federal court judge from the case, saying she violated impartiality rules by talking to the media and in some of her instructions to the plaintiffs. Scheindlin has denied wrongdoing.
But her removal could mean that the appeals court will vacate her previous decision finding the policy unconstitutional, and pave the way for a new trial.
When Scheindlin had initially ruled against the city, Bloomberg railed that she "ignored the real world realities of crime." His remarks on her were more muted on Friday.
"We said a number of times we thought the judge was not giving us the opportunity to present our case, and to explain what the Police Department does. How we decide who to stop, and question, and sometimes frisk. We didn't get a chance to explain the tactics, and the results that come from it," Bloomberg said.
Kelly, whose crime-fighting legacy has taken a serious hit because of allegations that the stop-and-frisk program violated people's civil rights, made a rare appearance on the Gambling show with the mayor.
He said nothing is expected to change at the NYPD while he is still in charge.
"The officers will continue to do an outstanding job," he said.
Kelly, who was booed off stage at an appearance at Brown University in Rhode Island earlier this week by anti-stop-and-frisk protesters, was asked if the stop-and-frisk controversy has been "difficult" for him personally.
The former Marine deflected the question, saying, “I think it was grossly unfair as far as the department is concerned."
"They've done a terrific job and they were unfairly blemished in all of this, and a lot of it for sheer political purposes. So maybe this clears up some of that. We'll see."
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20 minutes ago
FCLDMEDINA
not to worry. the fix was always in. hizonnor emperor bloomberg made sure to speak with his lantzman at shul. you never knew such a thing could happen.
32 minutes ago
washingtonkaye
My faith in the justice system has once again been destroyed. Just when I thought justice had reared its beautiful face in the form of Judge Schendlin, tyranny is restored as the Constitution-free zone policy is reaffirmed. This sort of criminal policy is the most fundamental affront to the liberties of the citizenry. The dragnet has been recast, as law-abiding citizens will now once again not only live in fear of the criminals but also live in fear of being falsely accused, detained or searched by the modern-day Gestapo called the NYPD. They have opted for a sweeping indiscriminate approach to investigations in lieu of legal and effective police work. Every American must recognize this for what it is: An attack on freedom. Benjamin Franklin wrote: "People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both." The founding fathers understood that government regulation must be tempered by adherence and respect for the liberties of the citizens. Stop and frisk is without debate a violation of this principle. We must stand together to oppose these practices, or God help us we will cease to be Americans.
18 minutes ago
Keddy Tennedy
I hope you get your faith in the justice system back, because it helps black people way more than it helps white people. Stop and Frisk has always been around, I've been stopped, I have older white relatives who have been stopped and we know it's because we were in known drug trade areas,yes I was buying drugs one of the times I was stopped, but not the other two. Democrats like de Blasio race bait the black community and the latin community by lumping stop and frisk and racial profiling together and making it seem like all the police stop people because they are black or latin. What they don't tell you is it only happens in hot spots for drugs and crime. Think about it, if all the cops were stopping people based on their skin color regularly, that's all they would be able to do. Would there ever be a democrat elected without the minority vote? They've been keeping minorities poor and separated since Kennedy. If you're hard working and decent, it doesn't even apply to you.
2 hours ago
DrJohn
It'll be overturned when diBlahz gets in anyway
2 hours ago
Keddy Tennedy
It's staying in the Federal appeals court. Mr. de Blasio has no power to overturn a Federal judge. It's her to stay.
8 minutes ago
washingtonkaye
Nonsense. the next lawsuit that accuses the NYPD of civil rights violations based on stop and frisk will bring this case right back to court. If anyone is unlawfully stopped it is your duty to file a $100 M lawsuit against the NYPD and the City of New York. If everyone files suit, although the practice is "legal", the practice will become impractical due to the expense.
2 hours ago
David Charles
Ray Kelly's legacy never took a serious hit because of this controversy. The opponents of stop-and-frisk have never supported strong law enforcement policies and fair-minded individuals saw Scheindlin's decision as a sham.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bloomberg-praises-appeals-court-ruling-blocked-sweeping-nypd-stop-frisk-policy-article-1.1503744#ixzz2jPyKVD8I
