NEW YORK CITY: De Blasio Names Guiliani-Era Bill Bratton As NYPD Chief

New York City Mayor-Elect Bill De Blasio has named Bill Bratton as NYPD Commissioner. Bratton served under Rudy Giuliani for three years in the mid-90s and most recently spent seven years as the police chief for Los Angeles. This is a controversial selection for De Blasio, who campaigned heavily against the stop-and-frisk practices of the NYPD under outgoing chief Ray Kelly.

Via NBC New York:

While Bratton led the LAPD, the department's use of stop and frisk dramatically increased, according to the Daily News. In 2002, cops made 587,200 stops, and by 2008, they made 875,204 stops, an increase of 49 percent, the News said, citing a 2009 report from the Harvard Kennedy School. The majority of those stopped were black or Hispanic, the News said, but the number of stops that led to arrests was far higher than in New York. The NYCLU, which has been highly critical of the NYPD's use of stop and frisk, said in a statement that it looks forward to working with de Blasio and Bratton "to ensure that fundamental changes are made to the NYPD, including a top-to-bottom culture shift that ends racial profiling and the abuse of stop and frisk."

More from the New York Times:

The selection of Mr. Bratton, a well-known and generally well-regarded figure in law enforcement, appeared to reflect the tricky spot Mr. de Blasio finds himself in as he moves to reshape the Police Department’s street tactics, while sustaining the decline in serious crime. New York is much changed since Mr. Bratton first took the reins in 1994. Crime rates were much higher and the issue dominated mayoral politics. With his hard-charging, press-friendly style, Mr. Bratton managed to garner considerable acclaim for the drop in crime on his watch, even as crime was falling in many other big cities as well. Now, Mr. Bratton returns to a city where crime has continued to fall and where there is less acceptance of some of the most aggressive and confrontational policing tactics. He and Mr. de Blasio will most likely be judged on whether the city can continue to be kept safe from crime and terrorism while quieting criticism over the excesses of policing, especially in minority communities.

De Blasio is holding a press conference at this writing to formally announce the appointment.

New From Bill De Blasio

He's really focusing on stop-and-frisk.

NEW YORK CITY: Bloomberg Files Appeal To Fight Stop-And-Frisk Ruling

Earlier this week a federal judge ruled that the NYPD's infamous stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional.  Today the Bloomberg administration filed a notice of appeal of that ruling.

Speaking Friday on his weekly radio show, Bloomberg blasted U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin, who earlier this week ruled the tactic was unconstitutional. “What does she know about policing? Absolutely zero,” Bloomberg said. “Your safety and the safety of your kids is now in the hands of some woman who does not have the expertise to do it.” Bloomberg and other officials have credited the policy in part for a pronounced drop in the homicide rate. The city averages one homicide a day currently, compared with six in 1990. “We think the judge could not be more wrong. The Supreme Court has ruled, we follow the rules,” he said. “This would be a disaster for the city.”

With today's notice to the court, the city now has 90 days to file their formal brief.

UPDATE: Just in from Christine Quinn.

Despite our urging Mayor Bloomberg not to appeal Judge Scheindlin’s decision in the stop, question and frisk case, the Administration has announced that they will move forward with their appeal. Communities across the City have suffered long enough under unjust, unfair and unconstitutional practices. There should be no further delay to long-needed reforms to stop, question and frisk. That’s why we will file declarations in the Courts to oppose any motion for a stay. My office will fight any attempt to prevent these reforms from being implemented. In addition, we will work closely with the plaintiff in this case to oppose any stay pending the appeal and to urge the Second Circuit Court to uphold the district court decision.”

Chat Show Caller On Stop-And-Frisk

I don't even know how to properly set this clip up, so maybe you should just watch it. The host totally slams Christine Quinn at the end of the call. More about this at New York Magazine.

NEW YORK: Federal Judge Rules NYPD's Stop-And-Frisk Policy Is Unconstitutional

Big news this morning. The New York Times reports:

In a repudiation of a major element in the Bloomberg administration’s crime-fighting legacy, a federal judge has found that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, and called for a federal monitor to oversee broad reforms. In a decision issued on Monday, the judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, ruled that police officers have for years been systematically stopping innocent people in the street without any objective reason to suspect them of wrongdoing. Officers often frisked these people, usually young minority men, for weapons or searched their pockets for contraband, like drugs, before letting them go, according to the 195-page decision.

RELATED: Earlier this year the same judge issued a limited ruling on the issue.

LGBT Groups Demand NYC Council Overide Mayor Bloomberg's "Stop & Frisk" Veto

Saying that the NYPD's infamous stop-and-frisk policy unfairly targets LGBT people of color, a coalition of 34 national and local LGBT groups are demanding that the New York City Council override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of their bill to restrict the practice. Via press release:

Today, national and international LGBT organizations – including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal, the National Black Justice Coalition, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and GLAAD – joined with local LGBTQ organizations to urge New York City legislators to defend historic legislation banning discriminatory police profiling against a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“We know all too well the impact that police profiling has on marginalized communities. LGBT people -- especially transgender people and LGBT people of color -- are unjustly targeted by law enforcement for harassment and policing at unbelievably high rates,” said Darlene Nipper, Deputy Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds the New York City Council for passing this historic law and urges all Council Members to stand up for equality and vote to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto.”

The passage of the legislation made history just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act by creating the first enforceable ban against police profiling based on sexual orientation and gender identity, alongside race, religion, immigration status, age, gender, housing status, disability, and HIV status.

The statement issued by 34 local and national LGBTQ organizations noted that “from Stonewall to stop and frisk, LGBTQ people - and particularly LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ youth, and transgender and gender nonconforming people - have long been targets of profiling and other forms of discriminatory policing. The consequences have ranged from death to deportation, assault to arrest, homophobic harassment to humiliation.”

The statement’s signatories called on legislators to “continue to stand firm with LGBTQ people and communities of color, and to vote against efforts to veto this landmark legislation and turn back the clock on this victory. The safety of LGBTQ New Yorkers depends on it.”

The bill was approved by the City Council back in April. Bloomberg vetoed the bill last Wednesday.

Bloomberg Vetoes NYPD Oversight Bill

Mayor Bloomberg today vetoed a bill that would create an office to oversee the NYPD and that would make it easier for citizens to sue the police for abuses. Gothamist reports:

The Community Safety Act, which is comprised of two separate laws meant to crack down on the NYPD's racial profiling, was passed by the City Council with enough votes to override Bloomberg's veto of the measure. Many view Bloomberg's veto as a stalling tactic until he can pressure enough City Council members to change their votes. Should the override succeed, Bloomberg has hinted at a court challenge, arguing that the bill conflicts with state law. (He's also been looking at other ways to get back at council members who support it.) "There is no need for additional oversight of the NYPD," Bloomberg wrote of his veto. The override vote could happen in August, just a few weeks before the mayoral primary.

The bill was supported by Christine Quinn, although she only backs the portion that would create the Inspector General office. When the bill passed last month, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, whom Quinn has pledged to keep on if she is elected (but maybe fire later), said, "Take heart al Qaeda wannabe's because the City Council has found a way to undermine our partners."

After today's veto, NYC Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio issued a press release: 

"Today, Mayor Bloomberg continued to turn a blind eye to the racial profiling that takes place in our neighborhoods each and every day. I believe we need a real change, and encourage City Council members to stand by their votes and override the Mayor's veto. Our young men cannot afford for us to waver in the face of intimidation from City Hall."

NYPD Gives Finger To NYCLU

I recently wrote about the smartphone app that allows users to record interactions with the NYPD and send the video directly to the NYCLU.  The app launches officially today and the NYCLU has posted the below response from two New York City cops.