Streets React to Stop-and-Frisk Decision

For many young men living in the Brownaville section of Brooklyn, being stopped, frisked and questioned by the police is not an unusual occurrence.

Stacy Adams says the last time it happened to him he was on his way to work a week ago. "They said that I fit the profile. Like they always say, we all fit the profile. Who don't fit the profile nowadays?"

The overwhelming majority of those who are stopped and frisked are not arrested, but their names, date of birth and other personal information are entered into an NYPD database.

"If you're stopped and frisked that's fine, that's one thing. But, for them to take your ID and keep it on record, I think that's a little too much," says Tyler Horton of Brownsville.

New York Governor David Paterson has now signed a piece of legislation that makes that procedure illegal.

"This will put an end to the practice of holding personal data of individuals who are stopped, questioned and frisked, but are not held to have committed crimes or even violations," said the Governor.

In response New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly issued a statement saying, "Albany has robbed us of a great crime-fighting tool, one that saved lives. Without it, there will be, inevitably, killers and other criminals who won't be captured as quickly or perhaps ever."

The New York Civil Liberties Union supports the new law, but also has a lawsuit pending against the NYPD requesting that people who are stopped, frisked, arrested and then found not guilty also have their personal information removed from the NYPD's database.

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