Wednesday was the last day to file motions after the ten-week federal civil trial over the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, and at the last minute the Justice Department decided to make some of its opinions known. Civil rights advocates have been pushing for the Justice Department to get involved, and in a statement of interest filed late in the day, the feds said an independent monitor should be appointed to oversee changes in the NYPD — if they’re needed. The department complained that the court should have addressed the facts in the case separately from the solution, and refused to weigh in on whether the NYPD is unfairly targeting minorities. Nor did they say who should monitor the NYPD, though the Justice Department could have offered itself.
