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The plaintiffs in the NYCLU's lawsuit against New York City spoke up about why they felt the subway bag checks violated their rights. The NYCLU has profiles of the plaintiffs, including why they filed the lawsuit. Norman Murphy told an officer he couldn't check his bag, and ended up walking to another subway station, while Andrew Schonebaum had his bag searched and a police officer said, "Aren't you happy to have your bag searched?" What's interesting is that the plaintiffs, besides all being men, combined have characteristics like "9/11 survivor," "son of police captain," "immigrant turned naturalized citizen," "Republican, and "commuter from NJ." Mayor Bloomberg criticized the lawsuit (of course, because he's getting sued!), saying, "It's a small price to pay to stay safe in this day and age." Yes, a day and age when NYC is run like a police state! Imagine how much Rudy Giuliani wishes he could be bearing down on us with strong-arm tactics.
You can read about the NYCLU's lawsuit in this PDF.
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i have noticed that the upper east side is VERY well-policed and there are tons of bag searches going on up there... but i have yet to witness a single bag search in brooklyn. i live in brooklyn and i spend an awful lot of time in the subway system. if you think about it, someone with a bomb could very easily enter the subway system in brooklyn, queens or the bronx. i think there should be a lawsuit about how the city is favoring manhattan, especially the more affluent neighborhoods in manhattan.
Great how politicians think they can get away with anything if their statements are qualified by "this day and age." In this day and age they try to get away with anything if it preys on public fear.
Are you kidding me? I had to go to midtown yesterday and didn't see a single search going on. And you want them in Brooklyn?
And why the heck would you have a problem with a 9-11 survivor, a son of a police officer, etc, being searched? That would mean either A. you're in favor of racial profiling so as not to disrupt these benevolents or B. you want a bare minimum of security in place to protect your life.
Good for you.
loose the bag searches in favor of a policy that actually makes sense. profiling. you play the odds, it's not 100%, but it makes a lot more sense than searching some old white lady.
There are a lot of bag searches at the Port Authority. So much for favoring affluent areas.
"And why the heck would you have a problem with a 9-11 survivor, a son of a police officer, etc, being searched?"
I may be wrong, but I thought Jen was pointing out that these are the demographics that were supposed to favor bag searches. Remember, we've been told that everybody LOOOOVES them except for insane liberals and terrorists.
Rio: Just this morning they were checking bags at the Avenue U stop in Brooklyn (Q train). And they arrested some woman! (I didn't see for what, though, I only got there when they were taking her out of the station in handcuffs.)
Profiling wouldn't do much good, at least not for long. In Israel, suicide bombers began recruiting women because they were not normally seen as fitting the mold of classic suicide bombers. Jose Padilla, who allegedly planned to blow up a dirty bomb in Chicago, is Hispanic. What about Chechyn Muslims? It would only be a matter of time before non-Muslim Al Qaeda sympathizers were recruited to the cause.
Does anyone think that if the police were to start racial profiling that terrorists who were smart enough to hijack airplanes or set off coordinated bombs in London would suddenly be at a loss for what to do?
I'm not sure what I think about the NYCLU's lawsuit, but I do feel as if I've entered some other dimension where people are actually fooled by this load of bullshit. They search one entrance at what, like, 10 subways stops? Out of 468? Geez, what criminal mind could possibly penetrate this fortress of security? Doesn't anybody else realize how ridiculous this is??
How about spending the money on securing infrastructure and CCTV and customer intercoms in every station?
And racial profiling!? What the hell is wrong with these ignoramuses? Since when did racial profiling become OK? It targets innocent people, it breeds hatred and ignorance, and it cultivates anti-Americanism.
"And you want them in Brooklyn?"
Actually, since there was once a thwarted attack on a subway station in Brooklyn, one would think the police would have more bag searches in Brooklyn. (Not that I'm not saying that they should, just that one would think they would if they really believe this policy works!)
In case, your not, why does it have to be Extreme "A" or Extreme "B"? How about "C" Everyone gets searched like they do in airports. It'll Cost too much? Probably, but the DHS was created to keep us "safe", right?? Let them pull funds from Middle of Nowhere places that no one wants to attack...
Out of curiosity: Is anyone under the illusion that "Random" searches only at Selected Subways makes Anyone safer? Does anyone think a Terrorist would not scope out a subway, see he cops and walk to a Subway that isn't guarded? Anyone? Anyone?
Since this has started, I've not seen Any cops at any of the five subway stations I take.
The NYCLU is doing what it thinks is right, defending the Constitution. A judge will (Hopefully!) weigh the equity of the situation and take action.
The searches are merely cosmetic. They give the appearance of safety, but I don't think they make us that much safer.
All a terrorist has to do is find a subway stop that doesn't have the searches, and enter. If he's committed to ending his own life as well as the lives of innocent ppl, I assume he'd be willing to drive around until he can find an agreeable station.
oh they just want to know they CAN search us whenever the hell they want.
This whole bag search idea is a joke. If a security procedure with just as many holes were applied to any other problem in any other city, the laughter would never end. Too bad Seinfeld isn't on the air anymore. I could see the four going down to the subway. Kramer is the one stopped and he refuses to submit to the search despite the others begging him to join them. They watch from the other side of the turnstile while he bumbles his way back up the stairs. Then a shot of Kramer running full-tilt down the street, sliding into the next subway station and waiting on the platform. Jerry, Elaine and George aren't too surprised when he gets on the train cool as cucumber at the next stop.
What I want to know is why does the city need Three cops per table searching bags.
All three needs to crook their necks to see what's in a person's gym bag.
I guess it get's lonely being on the job.
Remember the single cop patrol car idea? It was basically boredom, that and one has to be the good cop and the other the bad cop.
Actually, you have a minimum of 2 cops for practical reasons: The Other will help out and/or call for assistance.
I bet 3 cops is to make things run faster. Do All three inspect bags?
The problems with this "search everyone" suggestions -- besides the absurd costs and that the fact that a bomber would just pick another place where people congregate to bomb (like, maybe, the lines outside subway stations) is that in the US we are supposed to be free from search without a specific cause. The government has no right to search people without a reason to believe they may be doing or have done something wrong. It's fundamental. Riding on an airplane is perhaps optional for people, but taking the subway is a basic part of daily life in NY. Like walking down the street. And according to the Bill of Rights - check it out "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."