Task Force Welcomes Federal Court Rejection of Key Components of New York City’s Racially-Based “Stop and Frisk” Policy

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force welcomes a federal court decision against key components of the “Stop and Frisk” policy by the New York Police Department.

According to Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling in the case of Floyd v. City of New York, the controversial policy, which targets people of color for increased scrutiny by law enforcement, violates the protections under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution — the amendments that protect against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government and provides equal protection, respectively.

“‘Stop and Frisk’ is an unjustified police tactic and unconscionable form of racial profiling,” said Rea Carey, the Task Force’s Executive Director. “A federal court has now ruled it to be an unconstitutional violation of the rights of innocent, law-abiding New Yorkers. We call upon the New York Police Department to immediately stop this unjust, unfair and unconstitutional practice.”

The Task Force has long advocated for racial and economic justice. Apart from standing with civil rights leaders and activists against “Stop and Frisk,” this work includes lobbying for passage of the End Racial Profiling Act — a federal law that seeks to end racial profiling by law enforcement officials and to ensure that individuals are not prejudicially stopped, investigated, arrested or detained based on their race, ethnicity, national origin or religion.

“We believe that the fight for LGBT equality is inextricably tied to the battle to end racism, and we encourage supporters of LGBT rights to work toward racial and economic justice for all,” urged Carey.