The Issue: Criticism of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program in fighting crime in New York City.
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Thank you, Michael Goodwin, for revealing the true feelings of our elected officials regarding the NYPD’s practices that keep New Yorkers safe (“Dems Betray the NYPD,” May 13).
Stop-and-frisk saves lives. The good, hard-working citizens in minority communities should thank the NYPD for its great job instead of complaining to the leftist clowns who claim to represent them with their twisted views of right versus wrong.
Wake up, New Yorkers. This is a far different world we live in post-9/11, and we need to remain vigilant in our efforts to remain safe.
Hugo Bozzarella
Yonkers
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Stop-and-frisk started when officials decided to really do something about crime in New York. After a succession of liberal mayors like David Dinkins, who pretended it didn’t exist, Rudy Giulani had the NYPD do what it had wanted to do: enforce the law.
Race hustlers were outraged because they made a nice living telling nervous politicians that they would keep the city “cool” during the long hot summer. During the Giuliani years, they couldn’t get within a mile of City Hall.
Now the latest crop of nervous liberals wants to go back to the bad old days or impose quotas on the police department by limiting the numbers of minorities it can stop.
If you ignore the past, you will be condemned to relive it.
Robert DeCandia
New Hyde Park
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Our mayor is using a paltry drop in the homicide rate between 2002 and 2011 to justify an increase in stop-and-frisks over that same time period.
What’s even more amusing is his ludicrous claim of fewer deaths.
Since most murders occur between people who know each other, it seems ridiculous to think that frisking strangers on the street could actually save anyone. Only the brain-dead thugs in law enforcement would believe that.
The only question the citizens of this city should really want answered is: How many murders of innocent people by police have these stops prevented?
Michael Johnson
The Bronx
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“Dems Betray the NYPD” is right on track. The NYPD has always been an easy target for liberal politicians, and the liberal media often miss the point of the tool.
Stop-and-frisk is not a new program but one that has been used with success throughout the years.
Is the program perfect? No. Is it possible for some cops to misuse it and fail to treat its citizenry with dignity and respect? Yes. Do residents have an avenue to make a complaint if this occurs? Absolutely.
It is often a thankless, dangerous job, but cops need the citizens. They need their trust, which empowers them to go out day and night to make the city safer. Treat a cop with respect and get respect in return.
They are not perfect, but they are on the line to help. Give them your support, and take a stand for your fellow man.
Thomas Moriarty
Houston
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I’m a retired NYPD detective. I worked most of my carrier in Bed-Stuy, and in the street crime unit from 1971 to 1975.
The areas we worked were predominantly black and Hispanic, so the people we stopped were predominantly black and Hispanic.
They were stopped because they were acting like suspects or they were somewhere they did not belong, not because of their race. And we found many weapons and drugs.
This practice is a great tool, and because of it the crime in these areas went down significantly.
John Barrett
Brooklyn
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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is up in arms with the stop-and-frisk program. This is the same de Blasio who worked in the Dinkins administration, when the murder rate was at an all-time high.
Stop-and-frisk works. Stop being politically correct and let the NYPD do its job.
It’s better to have hurt feelings than dead bodies.
Tommy De Julio
New Rochelle