Milwaukee police chief denies stop-and-frisk allegation

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Nusrat Choudhury speaks at a news conference in Milwaukee on Wednesday about a federal lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Milwaukee Police Department on behalf of six black and Latino plaintiffs. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via AP)

By IVAN MORENO
Associated Press

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s police chief denies that the police department has a stop-and-frisk policy, though he maintains that traffic stops in “high crime areas” reduce crime.

Chief Edward Flynn’s emailed statement Wednesday came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin alleging that the department has a stop-and-frisk policy that disproportionately targets blacks and Latinos who are often held without cause.

The lawsuit alleges the citywide stop-and-frisk program is concentrated in areas largely populated by minorities.

The ACLU has filed similar challenges in Boston and Chicago over racial-profiling concerns. New York halted its stop-and-frisk policy in 2014 after a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional.