Charles Blow: ‘Stop and Frisk’ is an ‘ethnic cleansing mechanism’

Columnist Charles Blow explained the problem with “Stop and Frisk” on CNN:

To advocate for something that is obviously race-based. That is, that is obviously unconstitutional. That a judge has called — I’ve been on this topic for a very long time. The judge who made that rule unconstitutional quoted one of my columns in the closing line of her decision. There is no way to get around the idea that this is not targeting African Americans for hostility. Nine out of ten of the people who were stopped never charged with anything. They said that it was meant to stop people who may have weapons, that is not the way it was used at all. It was used as an intimidation tool, directed specifically at these particular people. And I believe that it — it functioned as a kind of ethnic cleansing mechanism in cities. New York City at the height of stop-and-frisk which is 2010. The first time in New York City’s history — since the reconstruction, that the population of blacks in New York City fell. And there was other issues at play. An economic strain. And also social and political strain and there was also a tremendous amount of pressure being put on those populations by the police in this country.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.