Stop and Frisk Letter To Mayor Kenney

July 14, 2020
Mayor James Kenney

City of Philadelphia
City Hall, Room #215
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Dear Mayor Kenney,
We, the undersigned, black citizens of the city of Philadelphia demand you keep your 2015 campaign
promise to end the policy known as “stop and frisk.”1 As highlighted by Newsworks.org, during your 2015
mayoral campaign, as it relates to stop and frisk, you said, “It doesn’t work. 83% of the stops don’t result in
arrests or the recovery of a weapon. And those 83 times that someone gets stopped for just being who they
are creates a problem with them and the police. They don’t look at the police as people to trust or respect
because they don’t feel like they are being respected.”
This unlawful tactic has been used for decades by law enforcement in Philadelphia to violate the civil and
human rights of Black people throughout the city which you publicly acknowledged five years ago. That is
why we elected you to be our Mayor; because you understood this issue and agreed to fix it. However,
when you took office, you forgot the promise you made, which is why we have collectively come together
to hold you accountable and demand that you keep your promise to the citizens of Philadelphia.
2
In addition, a 2018 study by the ACLU of Pennsylvania found that, while stops have declined since 2010,
they are still occurring illegally at too high a rate. According to the report, "as many as 20,000 people were
stopped in 2017 without a justifiable reason."
The report also found that “40 percent of frisks occurred without cause and that Blacks accounted for nearly
70 percent of all stops, despite comprising just 48 percent of the city's population. Worst of all, the study
revealed that "less than one percent of frisks lead to the recovery of a firearm, undercutting officers’
rationale that they conduct frisks because they believe a person is armed."
Former Philadelphia Police Officer Wes Hatton put it best when he said, “stop and frisk in the way it is
currently implemented is ineffective and does more harm than good. It highlights and reinforces fears and
grave concerns the Black community has about how police interact with individuals of color and makes
Black citizens feel disrespected or fearful of law enforcement. We are actually supposed to protect and
serve the community, not harm it. This practice just needs to stop.”
Like many major cities across the country, Philadelphia is continuing to reflect on the murders of George
Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people who have been killed by police, asking, how can
1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Ldeyf6IV4
2
https://www.aclupa.org/en/press-releases/analysis-philadelphia-police-stop-and-frisk-data-shows-illegal-st
ops-continue-limited
we eliminate police violence? There is no doubt that harsh practices such as chokeholds and other
asphyxiation tactics must be banned from police policies, but we believe that the best way to prevent police
brutality is by limiting needless contact with police in the first place. Ending stop and frisk would help in
solving that problem.
In addition, we believe that we need to create a community oversight committee to assure that the officers
are held accountable for their misconduct. Police officers also need better training not only in the Police
Academy but also on-the-job mentorship by a Field Training Officer (FTO) who has a proven track record
of properly handling Black citizen and implementing de-escalation tactics that reduce and eliminate
opportunities for police misconduct or use of excessive force by officers.
We believe that ending stop and frisk will reduce the likelihood that Black people will experience police
violence without sacrificing Philadelphia’s need for public safety.
Mayor Kenney, as you look at ways to end police misconduct, violence, and brutality against Black citizens,
uphold the human rights of your constituents, and improve relations between law enforcement and the
communities they serve, we strongly encourage you to be a man of your word and bring Philadelphia’s
racial profiling police tactics with “stop and frisk” to an end.
Sincerely,
Dawud Bey Human Rights Coalition 215 Will Mega, Human Rights Coalition 215
Anton Moore, Unity in the Community Kyle Darby, Darby Public Strategies
Rickey Duncan, NOMO Foundation Dawan Williams, NOMO Foundation
Alexandra Cappadge, Nexter PAC Brittany Smalls, Millennials In Action
SIXX, SIXX Degrees Films Tabetha Fulton-Bey, Human Rights Coalition 215
Albert Crosby, Phila. HS Black Coaches Assoc. Daryl Thomas, Community Organizer
Williams Butts, Men of Wynnefield Simon Carr, JABB
Rueben Jones, Frontline Dads Will Latif, Poetry In Motion
Latif Bey, Do4self Fawwaz Beyha, Do4self
Melvin Davis, Just Building Men Shaka Johnson, Esq., Shaka Johnson Law Firm
Ryan Boyer, Phila. Community Stakeholders Tasheed Carr, Born Leader Family
Theresa Brunson, Esq., Human Rights Coalition 215

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July 14, 2020

Mayor James Kenney

Dear Mayor Kenney,

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