NYPD vehicle stops are ‘stop-and-frisk on wheels’ says new lawsuit
/
A new suit alleges that the NYPD’s rate of vehicle searches is a new form of “stop-and-frisk.” Photo by Ray Raimundi/MTA
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.
NYPD vehicle searches were most prevalent in the 113th Precinct, located in the heavily Black neighborhoods of Southeast Queens. Graph via the NYCLU
“The New York Police Department has too often relied on race in lieu of probable cause to escalate routine traffic stops into unconstitutional vehicle searches,” said President of NAACP New York State Conference L. Joy Williams. “Driving while Black is not a crime and Black New Yorkers should not be so routinely subjected to such traumatic treatment as if it was. This is not a new issue. We have fought back against pretextual stops and searches before and once again we find ourselves in the midst of a return to form for the NYPD.”
The suit is being brought on behalf of two drivers, Justin Cohen from Westchester and Christopher Oliver from the city, who both allege that they have been stopped and had their vehicle searched for no reason.
“It's awful every time the NYPD pulls me over and searches my car for no reason,” said Oliver, who said he has been pulled over needlessly four separate times. “It keeps on happening. I am now scared to drive anytime because I could get pointlessly pulled over and interrogated. But this is what driving while Black looks like in this city.”
In each of the four instances, the cops involved “lacked any legally sufficient reason” for the stops and searches, according to the suit.
In none of the stops was Oliver given a ticket or charged with a crime.
Cohen was stopped by police officers while driving with his friend in the Bronx in May 2023. He said the officers ordered him out of his vehicle, and frisked him for weapons.
During the stop, the cops allegedly handcuffed Cohen and searched his vehicle for guns without probable cause. He was arrested, and taken to the 48th Precinct, put in a cell and was later released with only a speeding ticket, which he successfully challenged in court.
“My ordeal at the hands of the NYPD adds to a long list of horrific stories about driving while Black and racial profiling,” said Cohen. “Now, anytime I get behind the wheel and see a police car, I feel my stomach drop. With this lawsuit, I want to help stop this from happening to anyone else.”
In response to the suit, the NYPD referred the Eagle to comments made by then Department of Director of Legislative Affairs Joshua Levin before the City Council in April 2025.
“Any time you have more police officers in a certain area, as a result you are going to see more enforcement, you are going to see more car stops, you are going to see more searches,” he said.
Levin added that the city had “many mechanisms in place” to help residents who feel they were targeted or searched unlawfully.
