In a major lawsuit, New York City police officers have been accused of targeting Black and Latino drivers in a sweeping "stop-and-frisk on wheels” operation, The New York Times reports. 

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and Bronx Defenders filed the suit on Wednesday in federal court. The filing states that from 2022 to late 2025, of the 74,4000 vehicle searches done by the NYPD, 84% were on Black and Latino drivers, while white people made up under 4%. This is despite the latter demographic making up the largest percentage of drivers in the state. 

“There is no explanation for these disparities other than intentional discrimination against Black and Latino drivers by the N.Y.P.D.,” the lawsuit says.

If the suit feels like deja vú there’s a reason: the ACLU also sued the police department for its stop-and-frisk tactics in 2008. A judge ruled it unlawful in 2013. This new data indicates, as many of the plaintiffs point out, the current methods used by the NYPD to fight crime are just "stop-and-frisk on wheels.”

In one example, the Times shared the stories of plaintiff Justin Cohen, a 35-year-old Black yoga instructor from Peekskill, and Brooklyn resident Christopher Oliver. 

Oliver has been pulled over four times from August 2024 to April 2025. In three of those stops, police reportedly pulled him over for having windows that were too darkly tinted, which violates state law. However, Oliver never received a summons, and his windows were never examined. Instead, the officers searched his car for weapons. None were found. 

Cohen was pulled over for allegedly going 10 miles over the speed limit, a claim that he denied when speaking to officers and in the lawsuit. Though after he questioned the NYPD, things escalated. Officers instructed Cohen and his friend to exit the vehicle so they could search for weapons.

“We have to finish our investigation because of the way you’re acting,” an officer said, according to bodycam footage.

He was then arrested and released hours later, and given a speeding ticket. The speeding ticket was dismissed in court.

“It was just humiliating to be searched against your will and then thrown in a cage,” Cohen said to The Times.