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Bloomberg Apologizes For Stop-And-Frisk As He Embarks On Presidential Run
By
Jessica Gould
Published Nov 17, 2019
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By
Jessica Gould
Published Nov 17, 2019
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Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg has finally apologized for stop-and-frisk — just as he prepares to run for President in the Democratic primaries. Speaking at the Christian Cultural Center, a large black church in East New York, Bloomberg said thinking about his future made him think about his past. He said, during his administration, he hadn't fully understood the impact stop-and-frisk had on black and Latino communities. For that, he said he's sorry.
"I got something important wrong," he said. "I got something important really wrong."
It was the former mayor's first public speech since filing paperwork to be on the ballot in the Alabama and Arkansas primaries. The speech was less than 12 minutes, and Bloomberg led into his apology by ticking off what he considered his administration's achievements in criminal justice. In the early years, he said, his administration succeeded in reducing murders and improving relationships with police, including by diversifying the police force. He said at the end of his term polling showed that black New Yorkers approved of the job the police were doing.
"That was a real point of pride for me,” he said.
By the time he left office, however, that support had declined sharply, mostly because of stop-and-frisk, . Studies consistently showed black and Latino kids were overwhelmingly stopped by police. But, until now, Bloomberg has vigorously defended the policy.
When a federal judge ruled in 2013 that stop-and-frisk was unconstitutional, Bloombergappealed the decision. That same year, then-mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio emphasized his empathy with parents of black children who were afraid of the police. An ad featuring de Blasio's son Dante, who says his father was "the only one who will stop a stop-and-frisk era that unfairly targets people of color," helped propel him to Gracie Mansion.
"We didn't get everything right. We did make mistakes. I made mistakes," Bloomberg said to the congregation on Sunday. "Our main focus was saving lives. The fact is far too many people were being stopped while we tried to do that. And the overwhelming majority of them were black and Latino. And that may have included, I'm sorry to say, some of you here today."
"I realize back then I was wrong, and I'm sorry," he said. (See his apology below; full video here.)
Now as Bloomberg is poised to run again, this time for president, he said he wants to earn back the trust he lost because of stop-and-frisk. As black voters will be critical during the 2020 election, many presidential candidates' records with the black community have been scrutinized, like Kamala Harris's history as a prosecutor; Joe Biden's support for a federal bill that led to mass incarceration; and Pete Buttigieg's apparent lack of support in South Bend's black community. And, during de Blasio's brief time as a presidential candidate, Dante de Blasio wrote an op-ed explaining how his father gave him "the talk" about how to interact with police.
Some black leaders, including Reverend Al Sharpton and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, responded that they appreciated the apology. But Sharpton said it will take more to make up for the damage done to communities of color.
"I am glad to see Mr. Bloomberg now admit that the policy was wrong," he wrote in a statement. "He called me after his speech and I communicated to him that it will take more than one speech for people to forgive and forget a policy that so negatively impacted entire communities. However, I’m glad to see his position vocalized at a time when President Trump is calling for stop-and-frisk nationally."
Patrick J. Lynch, president of the police union, the Police Benevolent Association, said officers had told Bloomberg long ago that the "emphasis on street stops" was "polluting" relationships with communities.
"His administration's misguided policy inspired an anti-police movement that has made cops the target of hatred and violence," Lynch said. "The apology is too little too late."
Mayor de Blasio tweeted a similar sentiment, saying the apology was "long overdue" and the timing "cynical."
Meanwhile, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said stop-and-frisk was "just one of many" Bloomberg administration policies with a "detrimental impact on lower income New Yorkers and communities of more color." Williams pointed to housing and education among other areas that merited more reflection from the former mayor.
The New York Civil Liberties, one of the parties that sued the city over stop-and-frisk, expressed a similar sentiment about the policy’s legacy. The group’s executive director, Donna Lieberman said the city’s current “broken windows” approach to policing minor crimes continues to rely on stop and frisk.
“[It] is not a remnant of New York’s past. It is a daily reality for many New Yorkers,” Lieberman said in a statement. “What New Yorkers need to hear is a plan to end police violence and restore trust between officers and communities.”
Jessica Gould is a reporter in the newsroom at WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @ByJessicaGould.
Tagged
stop and frisk
michael bloomberg
election 2020
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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