Suit withdrawn against anti-racial profiling law
Mayor Bill de Blasio has withdrawn a city-filed lawsuit against a 2013 City Council bill that made it easier for people to claim that NYPD use of stop-and-frisk and other tactics was implemented in a racially-biased manner.
De Blasio’s move was cheered by numerous elected officials and community groups, while supporters of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s lawsuit—as well as of an ongoing lawsuit by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association—decried it as a threat to the safety of police officers on the grounds that cops need to be willing to take action to protect themselves without fear of legal challenge.
The current administration maintained that “there is absolutely no contradiction in protecting the public safety of New Yorkers and respecting their civil liberties.”