New York City Council considers new laws to address police abuse in Stop and Frisk program

New York’s City Council is considering a package of new laws to address the police department’s controversial practice known as Stop and Frisk, in which police officers temporarily stop and detain people on the street. Stop and Frisk has increased 600 percent under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s leadership, peaking at nearly 700,000 stops last year. At a City Council hearing yesterday, residents gave more than five hours of testimony about the new measures aimed at curbing the practice. Critics point to the police department’s own statistics that show the majority affected are people of color and not charged with any crime. From New York, FSRN’s Matthew Petrillo reports.