It’s hard to say why, but police commissioner Ray Kelly is pretty popular around these parts. So popular, in fact, that despite being the head and public face of a department that’s faced tremendous controversy over stop-and-frisk, seen several cases of police brutality and excessive force, and is considering the use of surveillance drones in the years to come, a new Quinnipiac poll shows that 63 percent of New Yorkers would see a pledge to keep Kelly on board from a mayoral candidate as a reason to vote that candidate.
In the same survey, pollsters asked voters whether they approve of the NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk, and the results are telling. While 56 percent of whites approved of the practice, only 27 percent of blacks and 45 percent of Latinos agreed.
(Photo: Azi Paybarah/Flickr)