Officials, Mayoral Candidates Sound Off on Stop-and-Frisk Ruling

A federal judge ruled Monday that the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk tactic violated the constitutional rights of minority communities and has been systematically stopping people without any objective reason to suspect them of wrongdoing. The judge called for a federal monitor to oversee reforms of the program. City officials and mayoral candidates responded to the ruling Monday afternoon.

[Connor Ryan reports on the ruling for NPR]

Mayor Michael Bloomberg: "The judge conveyed a disturbing disregard for the good intentions of our officers, who form the most diverse department in the United States."

Sal Albanese (Democrat): "There was never any doubt that the city was casting too wide of a net and focusing on quantity rather than quality when numbers peaked in 2011. Since then, the NYPD has moved in the right direction by training officers better and reducing unnecessary stops. This ruling with accelerate that process."

Adolfo Carrion (Independent): "Sadly, today the outcome is that a federal judge has tied the hands of the mayor and police commissioner. To be clear, review of this practice has been needed for years. Too many stops, widespread talk of aggressive quotas and increased tension with local communities should have prompted such a review on the part of the mayor or police commissione rlong ago."

John Catsimatidis (Republican): "I am disappointed by the US District Court's ruling on stop-and-frisk. Stop-and-frisk is an example of proactive police work that stops crime and keeps guns off the streets; dropping crime rates have proven that."

Bill de Blasio (Democrat): "The courts have just affirmed facts that too many New Yorkers know to be true: under the Bloomberg Administration, with the acquiescence of Speaker Quinn, millions of innocent New Yorkers -- overwhelmingly young men of color -- have been illegally stopped. The overuse and misuse of stop-and-frisk hasn't made New York a safer city, it has only served to drive police and community further apart."

Joe Lhota (Republican): "Our Constitution is a living document and I disagree with some of Judge Scheindlin's conclusions regarding the use of stop, question and frisk and the Fourth Amendment. I urge the mayor to appeal the decision to delay implementation of a federal monitor."

John Liu (Democrat): "The judge's call for reforms must be heeded, and -- longer term -- the tactic should be abolished. It's time to put an end to stop-and-frisk once and for all."

George McDonald (Republican): "One misguided liberal judge is endangering the safety of all New Yorkers. Appeal, appeal, appeal!"

Christine Quinn (Democrat): "At the height of this program, some 700,000 New Yorkers have been stopped with the overwhelming number resulting in no arrest or seizing of contraband, that's why the City needs -- and I passed -- an Inspector General for the NYPD. The NYPD Inspector General will help review and provide guidance to ensure that stop-and-frisk is done in a constitutionally sound manner that focuses on the quality of the stops, not the quantity."

Erick Salgado (Democrat): "Stop-and-frisk has been used by the current administration as a substitute for community policing and the beat cop. Unfortunately many people aruge that this technique is a tool to reduce crime, failing to see that in reality it is racial profiling."

Bill Thompson (Democrat): "As I have said, the present stop-and-frisk policy violates the constitutional rights of all New Yorkers, but especially innocent blacks and Latinos. Instead of treating our police and people with respect, the Mayor and Commissioner Kelly have imposed what are effectively quotas on the police and treated entire minority communities with suspicion."

Anthony Weiner (Democrat): "This is a teachable moment for our city. We must relearn the most basic of edicts of American life. We do not need to sacrifice our civil rights to live in a safe city. You can reduce crime while increasing respect."