Gothamist, Arya Sundaram, Jan 29, 2026

Motor vehicle searches by the NYPD surged under Mayor Eric Adams, overwhelmingly targeting Black and Latino drivers and typically without a legally justifiable basis for the enforcement, according to a new lawsuit.

NYPD vehicle searches more than doubled in the first three years of Adams’ term, rising from 13,340 in 2022 to 28,416 in 2024, according to the claim. Black and Latino drivers made up 84% of the searches from 2022 through September 2025, and white motorists less than 4%. Only a small percentage of the searches resulted in the filing of any charges.

Daniel Lambright, senior counsel for criminal justice litigation at NYCLU, one of the groups that brought the suit, said the disparities amounted to “stop and frisk on wheels” — a reference to the NYPD’s discredited practice of stopping, frisking and questioning mostly Black and Latino pedestrians without the required legal justification, which peaked during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s three terms from 2002 to 2013.

“Far too many Black and Latino drivers in New York City are treated like criminals when their vehicles are searched during what should be routine traffic stops, merely because of the color of their skin,” Lambright said in a statement. “We call upon Mayor Mamdani to end this racist and shameful NYPD practice. The NYPD cannot treat our city like a constitution-free zone where Black and brown New Yorkers’ rights don’t matter.”

When asked for comment on the lawsuit, an NYPD spokesperson referred Gothamist to police officials’ remarks during a City Council hearing last year in which they were questioned about the racial disparities in vehicle searches. Joshua Levin, the NYPD director of legislative affairs, said the agency sends more officers to areas of the city with a high number of crimes and resident complaints, resulting in more stops.

“Any time you have more police officers in a certain area, as a result you are going to see more enforcement,” he said. “You are going to see more car stops, you are going to see more searches.”

Read More: Gothamist