Eight years ago, a federal judge ruled the NYPD's use of stop-and-frisk was unconstitutional and a form of racial profiling, but some advocates say it's still being misused.

"Since 2013, I have been stopped approximately eight times" said Jon McFarlane, a member of the advocacy organization Vocal-NY. 

"They start off consensual enough, all of a sudden they're in your pockets,” said McFarlane, describing what it's like being stopped by police.

Community organizations and plaintiffs in two stop-and-frisk lawsuits filed against the NYPD say their demands for inclusion have been ignored by the court-appointed monitor ordered to oversee reforms of the controversial policy. They held a rally near police headquarters after filing a motion to demand more of a voice.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are now asking the court to amend its earlier order to create a seven-member advisory board made of reform advocates and public housing residents that would work with the monitor.

They're also demanding annual community surveys and audits stop-and-frisk activity that would be conducted every six months. 

NYPD data shows just over 9,500 stop-and-frisk encounters in 2020, compared with more than  530,000 in 2012, but advocates say too little has changed since the 2013 ruling.

"Sixty-six percent of the stops are for people they believe to have weapons, 93% of the time there are no weapons found,” said Jumaane Williams, public advocate. 

A report issued by the federal monitor last year found stop-and-frisk still disproportionately affected people of color and that officers who wear body cameras are more likely to report pedestrian stops than those who don't.

As for changes to the monitorship, city officials say they are reviewing the motion filed Thursday and will respond to the court.