Bill Thompson vs. ‘stop and frisk’: The first sign of the Zimmerman case shifting politics
theGRIO REPORT - The fiery denunciation of New York Police Department's stop and frisk tactics by New York mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, is the most obvious sign yet that the debate over racial profiling in Florida in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case could shape politics outside of the Sunshine State..
The fiery denunciation of New York Police Department’s stop and frisk tactics by New York mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, the only African-American in the race, is the most obvious sign yet that the debate over racial profiling in Florida in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case could shape politics outside of the Sunshine State.
Thompson had been wary of criticizing stop and frisk earlier in the campaign, telling the New York Times earlier this year there had been an “overreaction” by critics of the tactics.
But he embraced much sharper rhetoric in a speech on Sunday.
“Here in New York City, we have institutionalized Mr. Zimmerman’s suspicion with a policy that all but requires our police officers to treat young black and Latino men with suspicion, to stop them and frisk them because of the color of their skin,” Thompson said, according to the Times.
He later added, black and Latino men who were stepped under the program were “profiled as Trayvon was profiled.”
Other candidates in the race have already condemned stop and frisk. But Thompson’s comments, made at a black church, suggest that discussing police tactics will be particularly important for minority voters as they chose a candidate in the September 10th primary.
