February 25, 2020

Bloomberg Keeps Insisting He Slashed Stop-and-Frisk by 95 Percent. Not so Fast.

Brian Cahn/Zuma

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Early on Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, the notorious policing policy known as stop-and-frisk once again came back to bite former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. And, once again, the billionaire candidate took responsibility for cutting the policing program by 95 percent.

But it’s not true. As my colleague Nathalie Baptiste reported of Bloomberg’s comments during the last debate:

“What happened, however, was it got out of control,” he continued. “When I discovered that we were doing many, many, too many stop-and-frisks, we cut 95 percent of it out.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden reminded him that it was then-President Barack Obama who sent a federal monitor to the city in response to stop-and-frisk abuses; the policy was eventually ruled unconstitutional by a federal court.

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We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

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