Kelly: 'No question' people will die if stop-and-frisk ends

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says there's "no question" more people would die if the city's next mayor ends the controversial stop-and-frisk policy, which a federal judge has struck down as unconstitutional.

"No question about it, violent crime will go up," Kelly said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press: when host David Gregory asked if more people would die.

Kelly defended the policy as part of every police officer's toolbox, not a specific program aimed at targeting young black and Hispanic men. The federal judge called the program "indirect racial profiling."

(Also on POLITICO: Kelly defends stop-and-frisk)

"Again, this is not a program," Kelly said. "This is something that's integral to policing. This happens throughout America at any police jurisdiction. You have to do it. Officers have to have the right of inquiry, if they see some suspicious behavior. So I can assure you, this is not just a New York City issue. It's an issue throughout America. And this case has to be appealed in my judgment because it will be taken as a template and have significant impact in policing throughout America."

The commissioner also defended the program as saving minority lives, not targeting them as suspects.

"We need some balance here," he said. "The stark reality is that violence is happening disproportionately in minority communities. And that unfortunately is in big cities throughout America. We have record low numbers of murders in New York City, record low numbers of shootings, we're doing something right to save lives."

Kelly also rejected the idea of drawing direct lines between stop-and-frisk and the Trayvon Martin case in Florida.

"I've dealt with this in many community meetings," Kelly said. "It's something that is very important in the African American community. I would also submit though that the Trayvon Martin case is a little bit different. These are two civilians. It clearly was a tragedy, but it didn't involve sworn police officers."