Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s settlement of Floyd v. City of New York, the lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department’s practice of Stop-and-Frisk, under which millions of primarily African-American and Latino young men were searched despite their innocence of any crime or civil infraction.

Between 2002 and 2013, Stop-and-Frisk resulted in serious intrusions on five million people in New York City most of whom were only walking on the sidewalk, riding the subway, or visiting with their family or their friends. Judge Shira Scheindlin held in August that the practice was unconstitutional and appointed a monitor to reform the practice, but Mayor Bloomberg chose to appeal the decision.

“The practice of Stop-and-Frisk institutionalized the false claim that young African-American and Latino men are inherently suspicious based entirely on the color of their skin, the same assumption under which black men in South Africa during Apartheid were required to carry passbooks everywhere for inspection by the police. Such practices as Stop-and-Frisk and passbook laws violate both our Constitution and our shared commitment to the principle of equality,” said Congresswoman Clarke.

“With the settlement of this lawsuit, we know that the City of New York finally has a government that listens to the voices of people in every community. For many years, the voices of young African-American and Latino men were ignored, despite that these young men were asking only for the rights protected by our Constitution. Mayor de Blasio today demonstrated his commitment to the dignity of each individual person and to a form of government in which the people have a voice – the form of government known as democracy.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.