By Ryan Schwach
A new lawsuit alleges that the NYPD has been practicing a new form of stop and frisk, pulling over and searching Black and Latino drivers at a disproportionate rate, most prominently in parts of Southeast Queens.
According to the new lawsuit from the NAACP and NYCLU, Black and Latino drivers are 10 times and six times more likely to get their cars searched when compared to white drivers, which the plaintiffs argue is a violation of the drivers’ rights. They claim the practice, which they dubbed “stop-and-frisk on wheels,” is motivated by racial biases.
NYPD precincts with the highest rates of vehicle searches come in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods, with one Southeast Queens precinct leading the pack.
The suit argued that racial disparities in vehicle stops by the NYPD are immense, often lack probable cause and very often don’t lead to arrests or further enforcement actions.
Advocates further argued that the stops are motivated by racial bias and stereotypes. They add that it is an extension of the same policies that motivated stop-and-frisk, which was widely criticized and eventually found unconstitutional.
“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 Daniel Lambright, senior counsel for criminal justice litigation at the NYCLU. “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 advocates are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to step in and end the practice.
“The NYPD cannot treat our city like a constitution-free zone where Black and Brown New Yorkers’ rights don’t matter,” added Lambright.
Mamdani is not listed in the suit, but Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch is.
City Hall declined to comment on the pending litigation.
According to data revealed through a trio of previous NYCLU-led lawsuits, NYPD traffic stops went up 25 percent from 2023 to 2024, and nowhere was that more prevalent than in Queens.
Vehicle stops in the borough went up 35 percent, five percent more than the next highest borough, Brooklyn.
The 113th Precinct in Southeast Queens had the highest percentage of vehicle search rates of any in the city, a precinct with 83 percent Black and Latino residents.
Notably, the Queens precinct with the highest number of stops between 2022 and 2024 is also the precinct with the lowest percentage of searches.
The 111th Precinct, which polices the heavily white neighborhoods of Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck, made 53,869 vehicle stops in that time. Only 0.1 percent of those stops resulted in searches.
The 113th had 8.3 percent of its 46,277 vehicle stops lead to searches.
Citywide, NYPD made more than two million traffic stops between 2022 and 2024.