More >>

Sam Levin

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio at an immigration event earlier this year.

The debate over the NYPD's controversial stop-and-frisk policy is in full swing this week with a proposal from the public advocate prompting a badmouthing match between the mayor and the elected official who hopes to replace him in 2013.

Yesterday, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, an expected mayoral candidate, launched a campaign to reform stop-and-frisk, urging Mayor Bloomberg to dramatically reduce the number of unwarranted stops. That led Bloomberg, via a statement from his deputy mayor, to criticize de Blasio and dismiss his ideas as out of touch with the realities of crime in the city. De Blasio kept the momentum going this morning with a conference call with reporters to, well, respond to the mayor's response to him.

More >>

Sam Levin

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez with family members of John Collado who was killed last year.

A day after thousands marched in Union Square for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old who was shot in Florida, the family members of the late John Collado gathered in a small law office yesterday afternoon to call for a federal investigation into the Inwood father of five's shooting death at the hands of a plainclothes cop.

Collado was shot last September by a detective with the NYPD, who was carrying out a drug bust. The family members and their lawyer claim that the officer's shooting of Collado, who was not a target in the sting operation, was unwarranted and that the officer didn't reveal that he was with the NYPD and should have had backup with him. Officials claim that Collado had the detective in a chokehold as the officer was attempting to arrest Collado's neighbor.

More >>

Courtesy of Sharon De La Cruz

​Activists speaking out against the New York Police Department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy are unveiling a new weapon: art!

Last month, we reported on the formation of a coalition called Communities United for Police Reform, or CPR, which has brought together dozens of groups under a unified campaign to push for increased police accountability (and to make stop-and-frisk and police reform important topics in the upcoming mayoral election).

The group has a broad agenda that includes hosting training sessions for New Yorkers and pushing legislation designed to improve police-community relations and increase the accountability around stop-and-frisk incidents.

Runnin' Scared chatted with one of the coalition's organizers this morning about the group's latest effort -- a colorful mural in the Bronx aimed at teaching passersby their rights.

More >>

James Carter, an ex-con with murder on his rap sheet, will spend 16 years behind bars for illegally selling firearms -- including semiautomatic handguns and a sawed-off shotgun, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced today.

Carter, 45, was just sentenced. He had pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree.

More >>

Criticism of the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices have come from a wide range of elected officials and advocacy groups across the city. Now, in an effort to bolster the campaign for increased police accountability, dozens of organizations are joining forces under the umbrella of one campaign that aims to make the topic of police reform a major one in the upcoming mayoral election.

The new coalition, Communities United for Police Reform, or CPR, is officially launching this month with a "Week of Action" starting Sunday and has already brought together, thus far, around 30 organizations that support the cause.

Earlier this month, the Voice ran a cover story on the city's controversial policy, which allowed cops to stop more than 600,000 people in 2010. The largest age group is males 15 to 19, the majority of New Yorkers stopped are black and Hispanic, and overall, only nine percent of the stops result in arrests.

More >>

Four scumbags broke into an Upper Manhattan apartment on Valentine's Day, where they held up five residents at gunpoint while looting the home, and cops want your help bringing them to justice.

Around 4 a.m. on Feb. 14, two of these suspects climbed through a window and two busted through a door at 601 West 185th Street before terrorizing the victims and robbing them. The crims stole a laptop, cash, and cell phones and fled.

Nobody was hurt.

More >>

A man has robbed five Brooklyn and Queens businesses at gunpoint, and cops want your help bringing this jerk to justice.

Police say that he began his crime spree on Sept. 25, around 12:15 a.m., when he stormed into a Greenpoint Dunkin Donuts at 356 McGuiness Boulevard, shot a gun, and fled with cash.

The suspected perp then hit a Williamsburg Capital One Bank, located at 185 Broadway, on Oct. 18.

More >>

Hey, New Yorker! Yeah, YOU! Now you finally have good reason to be that asshole -- you know, that guy or gal who doesn't want to give directions. It could be dangerous!

Cops say the four scumbags pictured here are preying on the city's good Samaritans -- they'll stop and ask you for directions and rob you while you're distracted.

More >>

Reggie Allen is no criminal mastermind.

Cops say that 34-year-old Allen brought two loaded firearms -- including a Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol and a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun -- into a crowded Times Square subway station on New Year's Day.

More >>