New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, in an interview with Playboy, defended his relationship with the black community despite complaints about the police department’s stop-and-frisk tactic. “I could take you right now up to 125th St. in Harlem and young men will stop me for my picture and give me a very favorable and friendly greeting,” Kelly said.
The New York Daily News tested the claim by taking a Kelly cutout to Harlem, where the reception was less than rosy. “Ray Kelly is part of a racist, white supremacist system,” snapped Gerry Louis, 41, a book vendor. “Stop-and-frisk doesn't make us safer. He continues to criminalize our community.” A majority of African-American men spying the life-sized Kelly cutout — sporting a light blue suit, a red power tie and a stern look — vented displeasure. “If he came to Harlem, I wouldn't pay him no mind,” said Manuel Lopez, 46. “He hasn't done anything for us. You still have to cover your own back.”