Maybe If the Cops Were Nicer About It?

Last week, my new Daily News colleague Marc Lamont Hill wrote a column about the contentious stop-and-frisk incident he experienced last summer at the hands of Philadelphia police. He subsequently filed a lawsuit, which settled.

His story generated heated reader response about the pros and cons of stopping and frisking, much of which is echoed in a poll released just today by Pew Charitable Trusts.

"Philadelphians have considerable respect for city police and strongly favor the stop-and-frisk policy that allows officers to stop individuals suspected of engaging in criminal activity and pat them down in a search for weapons," the results show.

"But residents are less certain that police use good judgment in deciding whom to stop and frisk. Pluralities of several groups, including African Americans and young people, say they do not think good judgment is being used."

To read the entire Pew press release, click here.