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Ray Kelly Pens WSJ Op-Ed Explaining Stop-And-Frisk For Dummies Who Think It's Racist
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 23, 2013
Modified Jul 23, 2013
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Jen Chung/Gothamist
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 23, 2013
Modified Jul 23, 2013
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Perhaps to keep the rumor mill churning with chatter he's angling to become the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal defending stop-and-frisk—and spying on Muslims (even outside of NYC). He takes his stop-and-frisk critics head on, claiming, "Racial profiling is a disingenuous charge at best and an incendiary one at worst, particularly in the wake of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. The effect is to obscure the rock-solid legal and constitutional foundation underpinning the police department's tactics and the painstaking analysis that determines how we employ them."
You want stats, libtards who think he'd be terrible for the job? He's got them:
Since 2002, the New York Police Department has taken tens of thousands of weapons off the street through proactive policing strategies. The effect this has had on the murder rate is staggering. In the 11 years before Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, there were 13,212 murders in New York City. During the 11 years of his administration, there have been 5,849. That's 7,383 lives saved—and if history is a guide, they are largely the lives of young men of color.
That corresponds with Mayor Bloomberg's point about too many whites being stop-and-frisked.
During the stop-and-frisk trial to determine whether it's even constitutional, a state senator testified that Kelly said the program is supposed to instill fear in minorities. And there's also the humiliation: A 13-year-old black boy suspected (wrongly) of carrying a firearm (he wasn't) was berated by a cop for crying and mocked for acting like a "little girl."
Kelly also brags in the op-ed, "So far this year, murders are down 29% from the 50-year low achieved in 2012, and we've seen the fewest shootings in two decades," but that actually corresponds with a huge drop in stop-and-frisk this year.
Anyway, Kelly was on MSNBC this morning and said he was flattered by President Obama's remarks praising him. But he wouldn't mention anything about Homeland Security. Maybe he's just joining News Corp!
Tagged
constitution
homeland security
nypd
racial profiling
Ray Kelly
stop and frisk
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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