A federal judge ruled yesterday that the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices “systemically” violated the constitutional rights of Bronx residents — but said it could continue with proper modifications.
Judge Shira Scheindlin ordered the NYPD to “immediately cease” stopping people outside Bronx apartments enrolled in a voluntary anti-crime program unless cops have “reasonable suspicion of trespass,” in a massive 157-page decision.
The ruling followed testimony last year by four black and Latino Bronx residents who said they were wrongly stopped by cops outside their own homes under the 21-year-old Trespass Affidavit Program, — also known as “Clean Halls” — which allows police to patrol private buildings with a landlord’s consent.
Scheindlin said she is “not ordering the abolition or even a reduction of [TAP], which appears to be a valuable way of using the NYPD’s resources to enhance [security],” she wrote.
Instead, cops will be expected to justify stop-and-frisk encounters beyond saying an individual was suspicious or “furtive.”
The NYPD already changed many of its stop-and-frisk policies last year, after the suit was filed.
Scheindlin further said her ruling “is directed squarely at a category of stops lacking reasonable suspicion.”
It was the first ruling in three challenges in her court against stop-and-frisk policies, which the city says reduces crime. Critics contend it targets minorities and violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.
“In sum, while it may be difficult to say where, precisely, to draw the line between constitutional and unconstitutional police encounters, such a line exists, and the NYPD has systematically crossed it when making trespass stops,” Scheindlin wrote.
The New York Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs, praised the ruling, calling it “a major step toward dismantling the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk regime.”
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the ruling “unnecessarily interferes” with cops.
“An elitist takes for granted the safety provided by doormen who routinely challenge visitors to their apartment buildings,” he said. “The police have worked to provide a modicum of safety for less prosperous tenants.”
Scheindlin set a hearing for Jan. 31 to consider other remedies, including ordering the NYPD to revise its own policies and training.
“I think it looks more dramatic than it will turn out to be,” said Gene O’Donnell, a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “She is basically saying clean up your act.”