The Legal Aid Society and the Legal Defense Fund are condemning the New York City Police Department (NYPD) following the release of the Independent Monitor’s latest report, which found that the Department’s so-called “specialized” units continue to engage in unconstitutional stops, frisks, and searches that overwhelmingly target Black and Hispanic men.

The report found 91 percent of people stopped by specialized units were Black or Hispanic, and 88 percent were Black or Hispanic men.

“This report confirms what the people we serve have experienced for years: despite repeated warnings, court oversight, and promises of reform, the NYPD’s specialized units continue to violate the constitutional rights of New Yorkers of color at an alarming rate,” said Karina Tefft, an attorney in the Special Litigation Unit at Legal Aid.

“The Monitor’s findings make clear these are not isolated mistakes,” she continued. “The NYPD’s
specialized units continue to illegally stop, frisk, and invasively search New Yorkers at unacceptable rates substantially higher than those of regular patrol officers.”

“The Department also failed to audit an entire specialized unit for years despite clear court orders,” Tefft said. “New Yorkers deserve a police department that respects the Constitution, and the Mamdani Administration must take immediate action to end unconstitutional policing by the NYPD’s specialized enforcement units.”