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USA Today: Elected officials target 'Stop and Frisk' as racist
NEW YORK – Elected officials charging racism are trying to end a New York City police policy that permits officers to stop someone and pat him down for weapons or contraband if they suspect criminal activity. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the program is preventing crime. Opponents say it overwhelmingly targets racial and ethnic minorities. Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from Brooklyn, held a briefing in Washington Thursday on the practice and said she hopes to compel the Justice Department to investigate the practice. A delegation of New York City and state government elected officials met Thursday with representatives from the agency to make the same request. Clarke says the program, known as "Stop, Question and Frisk" or "Stop and Frisk," amounts to racial profiling. It is based on a 1968 Supreme Court ruling that police could stop people on the basis of "reasonable suspicion."
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