Illegal Stop-And-Frisks Spike Under New NYPD Gun Violence Teams: Audit

NEW YORK CITY — Nearly every person stopped by the NYPD's newfangled gun violence teams was Black or Brown, according to a scathing federal audit that found the units effectively revived illegal stop-and-frisks across the city.

A federal monitor's audit released Monday had one word to describe the stops, frisks and arrests they reviewed of the city's so-called Neighborhood Safety Teams: "disappointing."

Cops in the teams made illegal stop-and-frisks at a rate 9 percentage points above the entire NYPD's level in 2020, the monitor audit found.

"Too many people are stopped, frisked, and searched unlawfully," the audit states.

“Based on the stop reports, more than 97% of the people encountered were Black or Hispanic."

The audit's findings confirmed many advocates' fears about the teams, which Mayor Eric Adams formed last year as part of a bid to combat gun violence.

The teams are a revival of controversial "anti-crime units" that former Mayor Bill de Blasio disbanded after years of accusations of racist policing tactics. But Adams promised that the new gun violence teams would not be a return to the days of rampant illegal stop-and-frisks that largely centered on Black and Brown people and communities.

After the audit's release, advocates quickly condemned Adams and the Neighborhood Safety Teams.

“The findings of the Independent Monitor’s report are painstakingly clear: New York City residents, disproportionately Black and Brown, are targeted and harassed by the NYPD’s Neighborhood Safety Teams unit, which is simply another iteration of the NYPD’s notoriously violent Anti-Crime unit,” said Charles McLaurin, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, in a statement.

"We call for the City to put an end to these units for good."

Adams, when asked about the audit Tuesday, said the city won't disband the teams.

He argued the teams have been effective against gun violence and that illegal stop-and-frisks are down significantly since they were ruled unconstitutional in 2014.

More than 90 percent of people using guns are Black and Brown, as are the victims of gun violence, Adams argued.

"That's a real number that we cannot ignore," he said.

The audit found that only two of 230 car stops conducted by gun violences resulted in the recovery of weapons.

Teams overall had reasonable suspicion for only 69 percent of stops and 73 percent of frisks reviewed by the monitor, according to the audit. They had a legal basis for only 63 percent of searches reviewed.

The audit did find a "bright spot": some commands with Neighborhood Safety Teams consistently performed legal stops, frisks and searches.

"The fact that some commands have a very high level of compliance makes clear that lawful and effective policing are not incompatible," the audit states.

Read the full audit here.