NEW YORK, NY February 25, 2008 —In the aftermath of Bell's death in November of 2006, the most tangible department policy change was the requirement that any officer involved in a shooting submit to a Breathalyzer test.

Several internal reforms were launched to improve the quality and supervision of undercover operations like the one deployed in the Bell case.

But, critics like the NYCLU contend the department continues to engage in illegal racial profiling by stopping and frisking hundreds of thousands of black and Latino New Yorkers annually, with just a tiny percentage of those stopped getting arrested or receiving a summons.

The department tried to lay those charges to rest with a review of the statistics by the Rand Corporation which found only 15 officers whose track record deserved greater scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the issue appears to have dropped off the radar for many of the city's elected officials who were so outspoken in the immediate aftermath of the Bell tragedy.

For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.