It almost never happens that the police find anything. Yet, well over 50% of all young men in Bedford Stuyvesant have been subjected to this. Finding nothing, the police remove the handcuffs and let them go.
This police tactic is completely and obviously illegal. It is a clear and outrageous violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
You can be sure that the police would never do this in a White community. They could never get away with it.
I am running for election today, February 12, 2002. My principal opponent, Annette Robinson, the Democratic Candidate, is in favor of this police tactic. Her campaign literature says that she prides herself on improving relations between the police and the community. Translation: She supports illegal police tactics.
If I am elected today, I will stop this right now. The police cannot legally stop and search people just because they are young and black. It is illegal. It is as simple as that.
Please vote for me, Sam Sloan. If I am elected, I will halt this practice. Any police officer who does this without probable cause will be inside the jail looking out, not outside the jail looking in.
Sam Sloan
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