Federal magistrate judge Zia M. Faruqui found the stop and bag search of Torez Riley clearly unconstitutional and contemptible. Faruqui said police appear to be targeting people who look like Riley and that routine stops at grocery stores are occurring without legal basis. The Department of Justice recognized problems with the detention and moved to dismiss the charges "in the interests of justice." Faruqui warned that government lawlessness and showy arrests erode constitutional protections, damage the city, and leave permanent records that harm individuals long after charges are dropped.
"Lawlessness cannot come from the government. We're pushing the boundaries here. We're beyond the boundaries and something is going to have to break." Faruqui still took issue with the "charge first, ask questions later" mentality in the U.S. Attorney's office. "The Sixth Amendment doesn't get thrown out the window because the government has decided to make a show of arresting people," said Faruqui and the spectacle the administration has made while throwing out the constitution is "fundamentally damaging to our city."
"The police are out there looking for everybody, and it seems they're looking for people that look like you," Faruqui said. "You can't go into a grocery store without getting stopped and illegally searched."
In fact, there are reports Riley's arrest was a "point of contention" in the Department of Justice as many there recognized the unconstitutional nature of the detention, and on Monday the government moved to dismiss the charges "in the interests of justice."
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