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| U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin |
(ABC) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will appeal a ruling by a federal judge today that the NYPD's controversial so-called "stop-and-frisk" policy is unconstitutional.
Bloomberg said the tactic, which allows cops to search anyone regardless of whether they believe a crime has been committed, is "an important part of [the NYPD's] record of success."
During a press conference today the three-term mayor also criticized U.S. District Judge Shira Sheindlin for allegedly being biased against police, saying she has "made it clear she was not interested in the crime reductions" and that she "ignored the real world realities of crime."
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said he was disturbed that the judge found Big Apple police engaged in racial profiling, saying that is "recklessly untrue."
"We do not engage in racial profiling," Kelly said. "It is prohibited by law, it is prohibited by our own regulations."
Bloomberg's comments came hours after Sheindlin filed her ruling, spiked with dramatic flourishes, that deemed stop-and-frisk unconstitutional, saying the policy unfairly targeted blacks and Hispanics. Sheindlin ruled that the policy could continue, but only under strong new restrictions.
Bloomberg grew visibly angrier and more impatient as the press conference went on today, finally shutting down questions by saying the ruling is "a very dangerous decision made by a judge that, I think, does not understand how policing works."
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