Comments About the Massive Gun Bust

Massive Gun Bust Reveals Chilling Account of Criminals’

Stop and Frisk Fears

Criminals know what the Democratic mayoral candidates don’t: stop, question and frisk keeps illegal guns off our city streets, today charged former deputy mayor Joe Lhota. Mr. Lhota highlighted the recent bust of the largest gun-running ring, where criminals were caught on tape discussing the need to keep the illegal weapons outside of New York City over fears of being stopped and frisked.

One of the alleged gunrunners was heard saying: “I can’t take them . . . to my house . . . I’m in Brownsville . . . We got like, whatchamacallit, stop-and-frisk.” According to reports, the weapons were stored in South Carolina to avoid the risk of being stopped.

Mr. Lhota, who served in the Giuliani Administration during the city’s remarkable transformation from more than 2,000 murders per year to the safest big city in America, has been an ardent supporter of proactive policing strategies such as stop, question and frisk, and has warned of the dangers of the effects of a handcuffed police department.

“First, I want to commend the NYPD on their superb work in the takedown of this massive gun-running operation and stopping the distribution of these highly destructive weapons into the hands of violent criminals,” said Mr. Lhota. “The tapes revealing these criminals’ fears about stop and frisk is a sobering account of how this policing tactic has helped to save thousands of lives. It’s deeply disturbing that criminals know what the Democratic mayoral candidates fail to acknowledge: stop, question and frisk keeps illegal guns off our streets.”

Mr. Lhota once again applauded Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to appeal Judge Scheindlin’s decision and reaffirmed his commitment to continuing a laser-like focus on crime reduction and ensuring the NYPD has the tools it needs to keep New Yorkers safe. 

LIU ON GUN BUST AND STOP-AND-FRISK

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  Comptroller John C. Liu stated the following today on Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement of the City’s largest seizure of illegal guns:

“We applaud the City’s record gun bust, but we are nonetheless outraged that the Mayor is using it as a scare tactic to justify the unconstitutional stop-and-frisk police tactic. Stopping and frisking innocent New Yorkers never has been, never is, and never will be the answer.”