
Sybrina Fulton – Courtesy of blackenterprise.com
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, spoke out Sunday against the stop-and-frisk police practice in New York City on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” according to Black America Web. During her interview on the show, she said that neither police nor civilians have the right to deem someone as suspect because of their race. The story was reported by Black America Web on Aug 18, 2013.
Fulton said:
“You can’t give people the authority, whether civilian or police officers the right to just stop somebody because of the color of their skin.”
On the heels of a judge telling New York City that its stop-and-frisk policy was racial discrimination, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly defended the use of stop and frisk and said violent crimes would increase if the practice is forced to shut down. Not surprisingly, the city plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
Commissioner Kelly, while speaking on the CBS show “Face the Nation,” said:
“The losers in this, if this case is allowed to stand, are people who live in minority communities.”
What!? Apparently, even in the face of hard evidence that the practice has no basis in any real data, he insists that it is necessary for the well-being of minorities. Well, here’s some data for Commissioner Kelly to ruminate over:
“Over the past decade, New York police have stopped, questioned and sometimes patted down about 5 million people; 87 percent were black or Hispanic. About 10 percent of the stops spur an arrest or summons. Police find weapons a fraction of the time.”
To watch the video of Sybrina Fulton’s interview, go to blackamericaweb.com.