MEA CULPA

Michael Bloomberg: ‘I Was Wrong’ about Controversial ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ Law That Targeted Blacks and Latinos

The former New York mayor reversed his support for an aggressive police policy that targeted black and latino citizens who might now be voters.

Setting the stage for a potential Democratic run for the presidency, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday that he was wrong about the controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy he pursued a decade ago that targeted black and Latino people. “I was wrong,” Bloomberg said at a speech at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. “And I am sorry.” Bloomberg, who has not officially announced his candidacy, gave the speech at a venue designed to court black voters. Before his speech, the former mayor had repeatedly defended the policy, which gave the New York Police Department authority to stop and search anyone they suspected of a crime without hard evidence. In 2013, a federal judge ruled that it violated constitutional rights of minorities, but Bloomberg still supported it, according to the New York Times.