Stop-And-Frisk Is Still Rampant In New York City, Attorneys Say

BRONX, NEW YORK — Video of what appears to be the unprompted stop-and-frisk of a Bronx teen without a criminal record is further evidence that cops still target New Yorkers of color for illegal searches, attorneys say.

The Legal Aid Society is calling on the Bronx District Attorney's office to dismiss charges against Destin Burgess, 19, who shared video last week of what his lawyers say was one of three instances when Housing PSA officers searched him without cause.

"Officers in the Bronx and other boroughs routinely profile and subject our clients and other New Yorkers of color to searches such as this one with impunity," said Legal Aid Society staff attorney Shannon Griffin.

"We demand action from the DA's office and the NYPD to hold these officers accountable for flouting the law."

The Bronx District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment, but this story will be updated upon receipt.

NYPD spokesperson Det. Sophia Mason said Burgess, who is "known to the Department," was stopped as part of an ongoing investigation on Sept. 12 about 4 p.m. at Dewey and Quincy avenues.

Burgess told his attorneys that, during another search on Sept. 15, 2018 on Dewey Avenue, he was punched in the face, arrested and charged with resisting arrest after he demanded to know why he'd been stopped.

In the months that followed, Burgess — whom attorneys say has no criminal record — was hauled into Bronx Criminal Court eight times hoping to address charges from a similar search, only to hear prosecutors state they weren't ready, Legal Aid said.

"This frisk flagrantly violates New York's carefully graded laws governing police-civilian encounters," said Griffin."We are calling on the Bronx District Attorney’s Office to dismiss the charges pending against our client."

Data analyzed by the New York Civil Liberties Union show cops disproportionately stopped and frisked black and Latino New Yorkers between 2014 and 2018, despite a 2013 federal court ruling that the practice was unconstitutional.

The analysis found eight out of every 10 people stopped by cops between 2014 and 2017 were people of color.

Mason noted "the NYPD has dramatically reduced the use of stop-question-and-frisk" to 11,000 reported stops in 2018.

"This reflects the deliberate shift in NYPD strategic focus over the past several years to precise, surgical targeting of crime and criminals," Mason said.