NYCLU Demands Information From NYPD About Profiling At Brooklyn Subway Stop

In response to published reports that a New York City Police Department commander on October 5 ordered police officers to stop and question every black man entering a Brooklyn subway station, the NYCLU has asked the NYPD to provide it with information about all police stops at the station during a two-week period. In an October 11 letter to Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the NYCLU asked for the number of people stopped, as well as their race, gender, and age for each day between September 28 and October 12. The letter also seeks information about any actions taken by the Department in response to the reported racial-profiling directive.

Commissioner Kelly has disputed the news accounts, suggesting there may have been a “misunderstanding” about the directive. Whether officers misunderstood the order or not, however, the NYCLU is concerned that black men in fact were singled out for police stops at the station and that police records may been created about those stopped. For this reason, the NYCLU has sought detailed information about police activity at the station.

Click here to read the letter.