NYCLU Files Another Suit To Stop Subway Searches

A man of South Asian descent and the NYCLU is suing the city to stop searches of bags in the subway system.

In a lawsuit filed yesterday by the New York Civil Liberties Union, Jangir Sultan, 32, says he is of Kashmiri descent and has dark eyes and brown skin and looks Middle Eastern.

Sultan says he was stopped at subway stations around the city after the NYPD implemented a search program in response to the 2005 London bombings.

Courts have already ruled that those searches are constitutional, but the NYCLU is backing this as a matter of course.

I am a regular rider on PATH and the NYC subways and the Port Authority police have a baggage check policy that is probably far more intrusive than that of the NYC subway system. I am regularly asked to stop and have my bag checked. When I used to use the Christopher Street station (one of the most dangerous stations in the City due to its single narrow winding entrance and staircase), I was stopped repeatedly, but didn't consider it a reason to file suit. I continue to be stopped when using the WTC station.

These police officers are trying to keep all of us safe from people who wouldn't think twice of carrying a bomb on to a subway car or platform and murder as many people as possible.

I have no sympathy for this guy, primarily because the courts have already ruled the searches are legal. Also, the NYPD and law enforcement in general, is having its hands tied by civil libertarians who have no problem extending constitutional protections to terrorists, but don't think much of protecting all of us from the threats that those terrorists pose and the methods they use. After all, the ACLU require bags be checked when entering their offices, but that's okay because they're a private entity. A public service, like mass transit is afforded less protection.