Bloomberg apologizes

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has long defended the controversial "stop-and-frisk" policing tactic used by the city's police department during his years as mayor, a policy that a judge found violated the constitutional rights of racial minorities. But with Bloomberg now seriously eyeing a late entry into the Democratic presidential race, he unexpectedly apologized for stop-and-frisk yesterday. During an appearance Sunday morning at an African-American church in Brooklyn, the Christian Cultural Center, Bloomberg said, "Over time, I’ve come to understand something that I’ve long struggled to admit to myself: I got something important wrong. I got something important really wrong. I didn’t understand the full impact that stops were having on the black and Latino communities. I was totally focused on saving lives, but as we all know, good intentions are not good enough. . . . I can’t change history, but today, I want you to know I realize I was wrong, and I am sorry." But there are people questioning the sincerity of Bloomberg's apology given its timing. Among them are Bloomberg's successor, current Mayor Bill de Blasio, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who said, "Up until recently he was holding steady, so I’m very concerned about this 11th-hour conversion because he wants to run for president."