On April 26, the first black president, Barack Obama, engaged in frivolous banter with corporate media hounds while Baltimore exploded in rage against the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of the police.
The Supreme Court's decision in the 1968 Taylor v. Ohio case loosened the requirements for establishing “probable cause” for a police search. This decision eroded the Fourth Amendment right protecting against “unreasonable search and seizure” by extending the definition probable cause for a legal stop to include the subjective “reasonable suspicion,” giving police officers wide latitude to determine what constitutes suspicious behavior. On this basis, the NYPD has implemented its “Stop and Frisk” policy, devastating communities of color, terrorizing youth, and bringing unnecessary pain and suffering to the families who have become its victims.
