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Tempers Cut Short Town Hall Meeting On Philly's Stop & Frisk Policy

By Natasha Brown

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Jim Kenney and Commissioner Richard Ross faced some harsh criticism on Friday night in connection to Philadelphia's Stop and Frisk policies.

The town hall meeting was all about stop and frisk and how the policy relates to Philadelphia Police. It was meant to open up a dialogue about the policy, but instead, it opened up plenty of emotional outbursts.

Anger, frustration and pain flowed from community members gathered at a church in North Philadelphia. Many felt that the policy is unfair and targets African-Americans.

"In Philadelphia, we have stopped on an average, about 200,000 to 300,000 people a year and of the 2 or 300,00 people, 80 percent of them it's turned up that they have no contraband. They're not doing anything illegal," said Pastor Mark Kelly Tyler.

Emotional outbursts led to many people leaving the meeting.  Several calls for calm finally allowed for a brief conversation between the community, Ross and Kenney.

The mayor said unequivocally, during his campaign for mayor, that he would end stop and frisk. He was fiercely questioned about when that would happen.

Kenney seemed exasperated at points as he tried to reassure residents that he was taking this issue very seriously and that he was working on it. Nonetheless, the shouting reignited and the meeting ended abruptly and ahead of schedule.

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