By KATI CORNELL
May 8, 2008
A journalist who was stopped and frisked by cops has hit the NYPD with a federal lawsuit, claiming he was a victim of racial profiling.
Leonardo Blair, a freelancer who has worked for The Post, had just left his car and was walking home in The Bronx on Nov. 28 when a cop confronted him and hauled him off to the 49th Precinct station house - an incident the reporter first described in a Post story on Dec. 2.
Blair, who is black and 28 years old, was aggressively questioned, frisked and handcuffed by Officer William Castillo, despite the fact that he "was not engaging in any illegal or improper activity," the New York Civil Liberties Union suit states.
Asked about the suit, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said he was not aware of it and called the stop-and-frisk procedure "an important tool in keeping this city safe."
"We have a gun problem, in particular, on the streets of this city. We think it's a tool that is necessary. We try to do it with civility, with respect," Kelly said. "But I understand that can be intrusive. It takes away people's time."
