City officials reject calls to revive 'racist and unconstitutional' stop and frisk policies

PHILADELPHIA - Growing frustration over spiking gun violence in Philadelphia, and concerns about last week’s shooting at the July 4th celebration, has pushed the controversial practice of stop and frisk back into the conversation.Stop and frisk is just how it sounds: police stop someone and search for weapons and contraband.City Council President Darrell Clarke raised the issue last week in a press briefing after two law enforcement officers were wounded just before the start of the July 4th fireworks. "There are a lot of citizens in Philadelphia who talk about when are we going to talk about stop and frisk in a constitutionally enacted way," Clarke said.While Clarke did not endorse the idea of returning to the practice, which critics say unfairly targets communities of color, he did press for a detailed conversation about the stop and frisk policy. "That's a conversation we're going to have," said Clarke. "We can’t have an environment where everybody is carrying a gun, an illegal gun." MORE HEADLINES Man killed after being shot 13 times near SEPTA station in North Philadelphia, police say2 boys wanted for deadly attack on 73-year-old in North Philadelphia turn themselves in, police sayPolice: Man in critical condition after being shot in the eye, head in West PhiladelphiaSpeaking at his weekly gun violence briefing on Monday, District Attorney Larry Krasner made a distinction between what he calls legal and "illegal stop and frisk." Krasner also argues that illegal stop and frisk is racial profiling."We in government should not be encouraging law enforcement to do things that are illegal, that doesn’t make any sense," he said.