U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin refused to delay the enactment of a ruling that will stop New York City's stop-and-frisk policies, according to Newsday. The city had requested the stay, with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration and the New York City Police Department saying that the ruling will "compromise public safety" and interfere with law enforcement.
Scheindlin upheld her initial decision, which will curb the controversial procedure by implementing "reforms in training, supervision and discipline, and a pilot project to have officers wear cameras to record stops."
"Ordering a stay now would send precisely the wrong signal," Scheindlin wrote. "It would essentially confirm that the past practices … were justified and based on constitutional police practices. It would also send the message that reducing the number of stops is somehow dangerous to the residents of this City."
The judge ruled last month that police were making street stops without the "reasonable suspicion" required by the Constitution, and targeting minorities. She ordered the appointment of a monitor to institute reforms in training, supervision and discipline, and a pilot project to have officers wear cameras to record stops.
The Bloomberg administration and the NYPD say the ruling will compromise public safety and improperly intrudes into local policing authority. But other major political figures filed court papers opposing a stay, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for mayor …
In her 17-page ruling, Scheindlin said that her order was unlikely to be overturned on appeal, and that the immediate steps to carry out her orders — meetings between the monitor she named and the city to map out an implementation plan — were not intrusive.
Read more at Newsday.