Stop-and-frisk encounters to include an explanation 'receipt' starting in September, NYPD says
New York City Police officers watch over a demonstration against the city's "stop-and-frisk" searches in lower Manhattan near Federal Court on March 18, 2013. Credit: Getty Images
Next month, NYPD officers doing stop-and-frisks will start handing out forms that include an explanation for the encounters and contact information to register complaints, a department spokesman said Tuesday.
The forms, also referred to as receipts, will include a place for police officers to identify themselves.
Use of the receipts, which begins Sept. 21, was recommended by Peter Zimroth, a federal monitor appointed to help oversee reforms of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practice.
Earlier this month, Zimroth, former city corporation counsel, recommended cops give the forms to those stopped and in some cases frisked -- but not arrested. Late Monday a federal judge approved Zimroth's recommendation.
The forms will also include contact information for the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent agency that investigates allegations of NYPD misconduct.
So-called Level 3 encounters, where officers stop, question, frisk and detain a person they reasonably suspect has or will commit a misdemeanor or felony, are covered by the forms.
Their use starting next month drew an angry response Tuesday from Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch in a statement.
It's an impediment to officers doing their jobs, Lynch said, and including review board contacts invites the filing of unwarranted complaints.
"They are just one more item on the ever-growing list of anti-public-safety measures that will put an end to proactive policing in this city and ultimately accelerate the increase in crime and disorder that we are already seeing in our public spaces," Lynch said.
But officials with the Center For Constitutional Rights, which played a key role in lawsuits against NYPD stop-and-frisk practices, applauded use of the receipt.
In a statement, the Manhattan-based center noted its use is a pilot program and they reserved the right to ask for further revisions.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
