The NYPD has been accused of discrimination against Black and Latino drivers in a new lawsuit.
First reported by The New York Times, the lawsuit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Bronx Defenders on Wednesday. The case specifically refers to the NYPD’s “stop-and-frisk on wheels” program. According to the filing, approximately 74,400 cars were stopped from 2022 through late 2025. Of the people that were stopped, 84% of the drivers that were searched were Black and Latino. Less than 4% were white drivers, even though they make up a majority of drivers.
The data, acquired by the NYCLU through a previous lawsuit, also showed that the searches were restricted to mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods. Among the areas that were the most searched were the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, the 113th Precinct in Queens, and the 44th Precinct in the Bronx. Overall, these areas are composed of at least 83% Black and Latino residents.
The lawsuit was brought forward by two Black New Yorkers who were stopped by the NYPD around 2023. Justin Cohen is one of the citizens named in the filing. Cohen was stopped in the Bronx and forced to exit his vehicle by an NYPD officer. Video footage shows the officer grab Cohen’s hands and raise them to search him as the driver reiterates that he does not have anything illegal on him.
The officer ultimately found nothing illegal, but continued to seize the car and arrest Cohen. He was issued a speeding ticket, which was later dismissed.
“Far too many Black and Latino drivers in New York City are treated like criminals when their vehicles are searched during what should be routine traffic stops, merely because of the color of their skin,” said the Senior Counsel for Criminal Justice Litigation at the NYCLU, Daniel Lambright, per a press release. “The NYPD’s targeting of Black and Latino drivers with baseless vehicle searches is nothing more than stop-and-frisk on wheels, and it must come to an end.”
The ACLU has previously highlighted the discrimination that is rampant amongst the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk operations.
In 2007, they reported on a study that found that approximately 508,540 people were stopped and searched by the NYPD. About 90% were stopped and frisked even though they had not participated in any unlawful activity. Of all the individuals that were stopped, almost 86% were Black or Hispanic.
The latest lawsuit indicates that no progress has been made in addressing the discrimination in the NYPD’s program despite the Center for Constitutional Rights previously winning a case that resulted in the Court ruling that the searches are racially discriminatory. Per the case, the stops and frisks violate both the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fourth Amendment.
“[The City has] received both actual and constructive notice since at least 1999 of widespread Fourth Amendment violations occurring as a result of the NYPD’s stop and frisk practices. Despite this notice, they deliberately maintained and even escalated policies and practices that predictably resulted in even more widespread Fourth Amendment violations,” said the Court in their ruling. “The NYPD has repeatedly turned a blind eye to clear evidence of unconstitutional stops and frisks.”
