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On Monday (August 12), United States District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the New York Police Department‘s “stop-and-frisk” tactic was unconstitutional. Today (August 16), city officials filed to appeal the federal ruling.

Gothamist reported on the news of the appeal, seen to be the next step in a long legal battle over Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s preferred method of policing in the city. Mayor Bloomberg blasted talks of mayoral hopefuls Bill de Blasio, Bill Thompson, and Christine Quinn who all said that, if elected, they’ll drop the police tactic. In a report from the New York Daily News, the mayor viewed it as nothing more than bombast.

“I don’t think you can assume whatever’s said during a campaign has anything to do with the reality of what they finally do,” said Mayor Bloomberg yesterday. The city’s top lawyer, Michael Cardozo said via a statement Thursday (August 15) that the city plans to push back against court’s decision.

“As the Mayor and Police Commissioner Kelly said on Monday, we strongly disagree with Judge Scheindlin’s order,” said Cardozo. The layer then announced they would file the appeal Friday.

The class-action lawsuit against the NYPD and stop-and-frisk began back in March, with a legal team from the Center of Constitutional Rights representing the plaintiffs in the case. A statement from the Center read that they were “disappointed” by the City’s decision to appeal.

A source told Gothamist that the city has very little basis to win an appeal as Judge Scheindlin is viewed as a “strong judge.”

Photo: New York Daily News