New cards explain NYC street stops by police

[The Watchmen]

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police have begun handing out small cards telling people why they were stopped and searched on city streets.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday that the pilot program began earlier this month in three precincts. It follows a study of so-called "stop-and-frisk" tactics that says officers need to better explain what they're doing.

The cards cite a state code allowing stops by officers if they reasonably think a person may be a suspect. They say
"the NYPD regrets any inconvenience" if it wrongly stops someone.

The department, which made more than a half million street stops last year, says it's a valuable crime-fighting tool. Civil right activists have filed a lawsuit accusing police of singling out minorities.