COUNCIL MEMBER YDANIS RODRIGUEZ STATEMENT ON OVERRIDE OF MAYORS VETO FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL AND RACIAL PROFILING BILLS

 

New York, NY-With today's landmark vote, bringing additional oversight and protections to NYPD's controversial "Stop and Frisk" tactic, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez had this to say:

 

"Today marks a historic moment in the history not only of New York City but of this country. We as a council, standing as a representation of the wonderful diversity of this great city, are saying enough is enough, it is time to make serious changes to stop and frisk. The symmetry of this moment, 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington to fight for racial justice and an end to unequal treatment under the law, makes it all the more poignant.

 

The override of Mayor Bloomberg's veto is indicative of the will of New York City residents; it is the repudiation of a policy by the over 4.4 million people who have been victims of stop and frisk, and many others that stand against unconstitutional abuses of police power.

 

But this vote is also about changing the perception that so many have when it comes to police work in high crime areas. It is about supporting our officers who do and have always done their jobs respectfully, with the intention of building bonds in the communities where they work. We must continue to work hard to rebuild trust in communities where stop and frisk has divided; recover the true meaning of community policing, beginning with mutual respect and a common goal of a safer city.

 

I believe this step is an indication of democracy at work. It will serve to not only heal those negatively affected by unlawful stop and frisk, but strengthen our residents' confidence in their government. While we are far from ending the scourge of racial discrimination, we are slowly progressing together, making necessary changes to injustices bit by bit. As Dr. Martin Luther King said nearly 50 years ago, 'the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice,' and I think we did a little bit of bending today."