Michael Bloomberg apologized for implementing and defending “stop-and-frisk” policies while he was mayor of New York City, a reversal in position that comes as he prepares for a potential presidential bid.
“I was wrong,” Bloomberg said Sunday in remarks at Christian Cultural Center, a predominately black megachurch in Brooklyn. “And I am sorry.”
“Stop-and-frisk” policing, a strategy of stopping and detaining individuals for a short period of time in an effort to remove illegal weapons and other contraband, has long been criticized as a program that disproportionately affected black and Latino individuals. Bloomberg previously defended the program by arguing that it helped reduce crime rates and noting that a large proportion of violent crime happens in black and Hispanic communities.
“Over time, I’ve come to understand something that I long struggled to admit to myself: I got something important wrong,” Bloomberg said, according to the New York Times. “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.”
“Our focus was on saving lives,” Bloomberg said. “But the fact is: Far too many innocent people were being stopped while we tried to do that. And the overwhelming majority of them were black and Latino. That may have included, I’m sorry to say, some of you here today, perhaps yourself, or your children, or your grandchildren, or your neighbors or your relatives.”
Bloomberg’s “stop-and-frisk” stance was thought to be one of his major vulnerabilities for a potential presidential bid in a Democratic primary where winning over black and Latino voters is widely thought to be crucial to winning the presidential nomination. But while Bloomberg has already filed to be on the Democratic primary ballot in three states, he suggested indecision about a presidential run.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me,” Bloomberg said.
