Michael Bloomberg is preparing to make a run for the 2020 presidency, however, he is looking to apologize for some of his wrongs, specifically supporting the stop-and-frisk police strategy.
The former mayor was on stage at a Brooklyn church and acknowledged that he “can’t change history” but is offering an apology for his support of the practice.
“Over time, I’ve come to understand something that I long struggled to admit to myself: I got something important wrong,” Bloomberg said. “I got something important really wrong. I didn’t understand back then the full impact that stops were having on the black and Latino communities. I was totally focused on saving lives, but as we know: Good intentions aren’t good enough.”
The New York Times reported the height of stop-and-frisk saw members of Latinx and Black communities to be targeted nine times as more than white people.
“I apologize,” Bloomberg said if anyone was done wrong by the practice. Stop-and-frisk was promoted by Bloomberg as he took over as mayor in 2002.
Mark Peters, the former commissioner of the city’s Department of Investigation, said to CBS2, “Stop and frisk under Mayor Bloomberg was a huge policing disaster,” adding, “To begin with it was unnecessary. All the data we have and have had for a long time demonstrates that it was absolutely unnecessary and didn’t help reduce crime.”
Stop-and-frisk became a routine act for searching Black and Hispanic men for weapons, which was said to be done by reasonable suspicion. The practice was found to be degrading and the statistics showed minorities were more likely to be searched.
“Over time I’ve come to understand something that I’ve long struggled to admit to myself. I got something important wrong. I got something important really wrong. I didn’t understand back then the full impact that stops were having on the black and Latino communities. I was totally focused on saving lives, but as we know, good intentions aren’t good enough,” Bloomberg said Sunday.
