Ray Kelly Gets Booed Off Stage by Brown University Students

More than 100 Brown students demanded Commissioner Kelly end the controversial NYPD stop-and-frisk tactic during a scheduled talk.

By Von Diaz Oct 30, 2013

Instead of giving a lecture yesterday on "Proactive Policing in America’s Biggest City," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly was booed off of stage by students who oppose the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy. For 30 minutes students in the audience shouted out comments such as "Racism is not up for debate," and "How about you stop stopping and frisking people?," effectively preventing Kelly from giving his scheduled talk. Brown’s president, Christina Paxson, sent a letter to the student body yesterday expressing regret that Kelly had not be able to speak, saying the protest prevented students interested in the topic from asking questions. But in addition to their opposition to stop-and-frisk, student protesters also opposed the honorarium Kelly was to be paid, which they requested be donated instead to organizations working to end police brutality and racial profiling.

The New York City Council passed Local Law 31 earlier this year to amend stop-and-frisk policies following a federal judge’s ruling that the practice violates people’s rights. But a lawsuit filed by exiting Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which has been endorsed by the NYPD’s largest police union, is still under consideration.