NYPD accused of "stop-and-frisk on wheels" in new lawsuit
The New York City Police Department has been slapped with a lawsuit claiming officers are engaging in "stop-and-frisk on wheels."
The department is accused of using traffic stops to target and humiliate tens of thousands of Black and Brown New Yorkers without cause, but the NYPD says their enforcement is data-driven.
NYPD accused of racially discriminatory car searches
The NAACP of New York and two Black New Yorkers are suing the NYPD over what they call "widespread, unconstitutional use of racially discriminatory vehicle searches."
"The searches are not driven by the evidence. They're driven by racial bias," New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said.
The NYCLU sued to obtain NYPD data showing more than 84% of vehicles searched from 2022 through September 2025 were driven by Black or Latino drivers, while White drivers made up less than 4% of vehicle searches.
That same data shows most of the searches occurred in Black and Latino neighborhoods. The three precincts with the highest search count were the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, 113th Precinct in Queens, and the 44th precinct in the Bronx, all of which are comprised of at least 83% Black or Latino residents.
When asked to respond to the lawsuit, the NYPD referred CBS News New York to testimony from an April 2025 City Council hearing, in which the department said it sends more officers to high crime areas.
"And this stuff is objective. It's, like, from 911 calls, OK? It's not us, right? It's the public telling us this," said Joshua Levin, former NYPD director of legislative affairs. "And so as a result, any time that you have more police officers in a certain area, as a result, you are going to see more enforcement."
The lawsuit seeks systemic changes within the NYPD that ensure Black and Brown New Yorkers are not unconstitutionally searched.
"Why me? Why did this happen?"
Justin Cohen is one of the two New Yorkers included in the lawsuit.
Video posted by the NYCLU shows his 2023 traffic stop in the Bronx, recorded by NYPD body cameras.
An officer appears to frisk Cohen as he gets out of the driver's seat of the car, and at one point, the officer grabs both of Cohen's hands and raises them from his sides to his shoulders.
"Wait, why are you searching me?" Cohen asks.
"Because when you moved around like that, that makes me think you might–" the officer says.
"Alright, I don't, I don't have anything," Cohen says.
The NYPD found nothing illegal, but seized the car and arrested Cohen, issuing him a speeding ticket which was later dismissed.
"An independent investigation by the [Civilian Complaint Review Board] confirmed what I already knew — that I was being racially profiled by the police," Cohen said Thursday. "So more than two years later I still ask myself, why me? Why did this happen?"
Cohen said he's still afraid of police two years later.
"They're supposed to be people who protect us, but apparently they can do what they want," he said.
The NYPD would not comment on Cohen's case specifically but said there are mechanisms like the CCRB by which citizens can and should report any traffic stop believed to be improper or illegal.