The Issue: Bills in the City Council that could restrict the use of stop-and-frisk and other police tactics.
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Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has chosen to spread mistruths about the Community Safety Act, our bipartisan legislation to ensure better policing and safer streets, rather than engage in dialogue on these crucial community issues (“Heads in the Sand,” Oct. 25).
Under the bill, officers can still conduct frisks with reasonable suspicion and searches with probable cause, both the current legal standards.
Suspects fitting specific descriptions, including racial and religious characteristics, can still be pursued in connection with a crime.
We rely on our police officers’ hard work, which is why we’re so invested in seeing it improved.
Combined with the pilot programs of the Task Force to Combat Gun Violence, we have a real public-safety solution on the table.
Jumaane D. Williams and Brad Lander
New York City CouncilBrooklyn
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I can’t believe Kelly has to plead with the council to protect the neighborhoods it represents.
Residents should be out in droves supporting Kelly and the police.
Liberties come second to safety. I hate to be scanned in the airport, but I want to travel knowing that I’ll arrive in one piece.
Use common sense: Lives are being saved, and that’s what matters.
New York is the safest big city in the country. Let’s keep it that way.
Donna Orosz
New Hyde Park