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Debate talk on 'Stop & Frisk' seems to have struck a nerve

All across the DMV, but especially in Prince George's County on Tuesday, WUSA9 heard harsh reaction to the "Stop and Frisk" portion of Monday night's presidential debate.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD (WUSA9) — All across the DMV, but especially in Prince George’s County on Tuesday, WUSA9 heard harsh reaction to the "Stop and Frisk" portion of Monday night’s presidential debate.

In Prince George’s County, many slammed the policy saying it’s something they’re paying attention too. Some cited past issues between county residents and police.

We know the Justice Department investigated the Prince George’s County Police Department on excessive force issues, but that was several years ago. Jimmy Hall told WUSA9 it’s something that’s hard to shake in a county that is predominately African American.

Going back even further Hall, now 55-years-old, told WUSA9 he was about 30-years-old when he remembers a Stop and Frisk – like experience. He says Prince George's County police made him and friends get out of their car but never arrested them.

Thinking about that day and how he felt then, Hall told WUSA9, “I've always heard of slavery and going through slavery where it’s that African Americans couldn’t do things without being in control. This is the form of what I call it, a way of going back but this time using it in the 20th century.”

Hall says the Monday debate brought all those feelings back. For 20-year-old Terrell Samuels, “Stop and harass people, that's what it means to me,” he said.

Fred Sottnick talked to WUSA9 in Northwest D.C. “I don’t really know how to feel but I think, I don’t think it’ll do any good.”

"It takes away from people’s privacy, we can leave in fear from that,” said a young woman at the Suitland Metro Station.

Calvin Minor told WUSA9, “Well, let me put it to you like this. I'm 59-years-old. It think it's a lot of it in Prince George's county compared to Montgomery County, really. I live in Montgomery County for 20 years, but I'm residing in this county and I see more police activity over here than I seen over there,” said

"Stop and Frisk was ruled unconstitutional in New York because it largely singled out blacks and Hispanics,” said debate moderator, Lester Holt. “No, and your wrong,” said the Republican Presidential Nominee calling on Stop and Frisk as a way to get guns and criminals off the streets.

Not only did a Federal judge find former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg's, Stop and Frisk initiative to be a form of racial profiling, but looking through the data, the New York Civil Liberties Union says it took 593 stops to recover a single gun. The NYCLU also says in six of the 10 precincts with the lowest black and Latino populations, both groups accounted for about 70% more stops. This information was taken from data collected from the NYPD during 2003-2013.

"Even if they don't find anything, you feel dehumanized,” said Hall, talking about his experience.

There are people in the area who feel it is needed for police to do their jobs. However, none of these people were willing to say that on camera. A couple of years ago, former D.C. Police Chief, Cathy Lanier openly defended the Metropolitan Police Department’s Stop and Frisk policy.

A Maryland ACLU Spokesperson said most large police departments do have or address some sort of Stop and Frisk policy.

The Prince George's County Police Department released the following statement about the policy:

"The Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) follows the Supreme Court’s guidance in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). An Officer may stop and frisk an individual if the Officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the person is engaged in or is about to engage in criminal behavior. The PGPD does not promote or engage in the policing strategy called 'Stop Question and Frisk.'"

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