Trump's desire to win Black voters may be at odds with his stop and frisk views

Trump says he wants Black men’s vote but also wants to bring back stop and frisk, which has proven to criminalize mostly innocent Black men.

For years, lawyers and advocates fought the use of “stop and frisk,” a policing tactic that left a majority of Black and brown men who experienced it physically and mentally scarred and distrustful of law enforcement. After a lengthy legal battle, a federal judge in 2013 found it unconstitutional, essentially banning it.

Still, former President Donald Trump wants to bring it back. 

A key pillar of Trump’s anti-crime platform demands police departments reinstate stop and frisk — which allows officers to randomly stop and search people for weapons — or else risk critical federal dollars flowing into their coffers.

“I will insist that local jurisdictions return to proven common sense policing measures, such as stop and frisk,” Trump said on his campaign website. “Very simple.”

Not for many Black men who are perplexed that Trump would claim to covet their vote but wants policy that has proven to target and hurt Black men. Travis Hunter, an author, is one. His first visit to New York about 20 years ago was supposed to be a joyful occasion. He had just signed a major book deal. But within seconds of his having left his hotel for a celebration dinner, he said, three white police officers jumped out of an unmarked car, demanding he press his palms against a wall and spread his legs.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/trump-stop-frisk-black-male-voters-rcna157084

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