Bill Thompson (pictured) is attacking rival candidate Bill de Blasio over Stop and Frisk.
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In an ad released Sunday, the N.Y.C. mayoral candidate says rival de Blasio is lying about Thompson’s views on Stop and Frisk.
Bill de Blasio’s ad lies about my position on stop and frisk, Nothing is more important than keeping our city safe and treating our people with respect. No one has to explain that to me — I’ve lived it. Our kids should never be targeted by the police department for the color of their skin.
Referencing de Blasio’s earlier ad promising he will end Stop And Frisk, Thompson also notes how the New York Times called it”misleading.”
Thompson ends the ad by saying he is the candidate who will actually end racial profiling and Stop and Frisk, while removing illegal guns from the streets.
Watch Thompson’s ad here:
Still, a spokesperson from de Blasio’s campaign says they are sticking by their ad.
Watch de Blasio’s “Dignity” ad here:
Stop and Frisk has become a heated issue within the mayoral race.
The latest Quinnipiac poll shows that Thompson — the race’s only Black candidate — has the most support from potential Black voters, with 39 percent. De Blasio comes in second with 22 percent of the Black vote, and Quinn third with 18 percent.
Thompson has taken a more restrained approach to the Stop and Frisk controversy. He hasn’t been very outspoken about the policy, praising certain elements of it. Thompson even pledged to keep Stop and Frisk as a crimefighting tool, appointing an inspector general to oversee it should he be elected, according to the New York Times. Apparently, he has changed his mind on the issue.
According to NYCLU statistics, in 2002, the city only saw 97,296 stop and frisks, but in 2011, that number jumped to 685,724. A recent lawsuit by the Center For Constitutional Rights against the city over the practice’s constitutionality, resulted in a judge appointing a federal monitor to oversee the policy and ensure the NYPD uses it properly.
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