Adam Cooper, a 32-year-old African American, was charged with trespass and held in police custody for three days. The charges were eventually dropped. Cooper claims that the police did not bother to knock on Suarez's door to check whether he was a guest.
Over a year later, Cooper and Suarez are now plaintiffs in a federal class action suit against the New York Police Department and the New York City Housing Authority. The complaint accuses the two agencies of encouraging aggressive patrols and illegal stops and arrests in public housing all over the city. But more significantly, the complaint, headed by the Legal Aid Society and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, asserts that this practice of vertical patrolling discriminates against blacks and Latinos. The complaint comes only a year after the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a suit alleging the NYPD practices racial profiling during its stop and frisk procedures.
In 2003 the NYPD launched Operation Clean Halls, which allows the police to stop, search and question anyone they deem to be suspicious. When officers conduct a "vertical patrol," they walk through and do a sweep of the hallways, stairwells, rooftops and landings, to ensure the building is safe and that no one is trespassing or engaging in criminal activity. The NYPD may only do this in buildings where they are given permission to do so, such as NYCHA buildings. Residents can be charged with trespass if they enter prohibited parts of the building, such as the rooftop or the basement, or if they cannot provide identification or proof of residence. Non-residents can be charged if they are uninvited or if the person they are visiting is not there to confirm they are a in fact a guest. More
Showing posts with label NYPD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYPD. Show all posts
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Murder of Oscar Grant
The Murder and subsequent unjust verdict of Oscar Grant did not happen in a vacuum. The formula and recipe for this type of senseless killing by the Oakland Police can be seen here in NYC and especially Flatbush. The 70th Precinct is being blindly supported by a local blog (the ditmas park blog) that has the eyes and ears of the New York Times, The Daily News and a number of other news organizations. The Ditmas Park Blog is the face of white privilege and white ambivalence towards injustice. They protect the police. They make-up stories to demonized black youth, They romanticize the virtuosity of gentrification, they encourage police profiling and they write out of proportion stories and narratives specifically geared towards white fear and hatred of black youth and black culture at large. Just this week, they posted a story about the "dangers" of building a "hoops" courts in the back yard of an elementary school. Their solution to this perceived problem on a story that was planted by them to the Daily News is to "have more police patrol." Their reasons for this concern is that black youth cannot be trusted to be on their own without constant police supervision and police harassment.
from Huffinton Post:
News came this week that the U.S. Justice Department will review the case of a New Year's Day 2009 BART police shooting, following recent protests and a vocal outcry from Oakland, California's black community. The case involves the fatal shooting of an unarmed man, 22-year-old Oscar Grant, by former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle was convicted in State court this week of involuntary manslaughter, but many in the community say this charge falls short. More
from Huffinton Post:
News came this week that the U.S. Justice Department will review the case of a New Year's Day 2009 BART police shooting, following recent protests and a vocal outcry from Oakland, California's black community. The case involves the fatal shooting of an unarmed man, 22-year-old Oscar Grant, by former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle was convicted in State court this week of involuntary manslaughter, but many in the community say this charge falls short. More
Sunday, June 27, 2010
NYPD cop Busted for stalking 11 year old girl
An NYPD cop has been accused of stalking an 11-year old girl and authorities have charged the police officer with harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Officer Arrested.
Officer Arrested.
Authorities believe Detective Deodhram Singh, 38, followed the young girl in his pickup truck and harassed her and frightened her by asking her "do you want to make some money" and pushed farther, cops say the girl claimed he asked her if she was "young" and wanted to make $100. More
Officer Arrested.
Officer Arrested.
Authorities believe Detective Deodhram Singh, 38, followed the young girl in his pickup truck and harassed her and frightened her by asking her "do you want to make some money" and pushed farther, cops say the girl claimed he asked her if she was "young" and wanted to make $100. More
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Ditmas Park Blog covers for the NYPD
Ditmas Park Blog covers for the NYPD while hypocritically covers areas that they deem a bit outside of the small area they cover.
NYPD Assaults Iraq war veteran
The Manhattan DA's office has released the highly controversial footage at the heart of a police brutality case involving an Iraq war veteran.
Officer David London is on trial for assault and falsifying a police report after being caught on tape beating Walter Harvin with his baton even after the vet had been handcuffed.
On Monday, London's partner Mohammed Khan testified that Harvin was needlessly aggressive before, during, and after the incident.
Reports the Daily News:
Harvin yelled "I'll kill you mother----er," and "I'll f--- you up" as London hit him repeatedly, Khan said. He also kicked the cop while on the ground, Khan said.
The 28-year-old Harvin, who recently returned from Iraq, was stopped by officers after trying to enter his mother's West 93rd Street housing project without a key.
The video shows Harvin shoving London in front of a group of people. The officer and Harvin then exchange words, inaudible on the tape.
After a few moments London proceeds to strike Harvin with his baton and continues doing so while Khan tries to cuff him. London hits Harvin at least 20 times.
Officer David London is on trial for assault and falsifying a police report after being caught on tape beating Walter Harvin with his baton even after the vet had been handcuffed.
On Monday, London's partner Mohammed Khan testified that Harvin was needlessly aggressive before, during, and after the incident.
Reports the Daily News:
Harvin yelled "I'll kill you mother----er," and "I'll f--- you up" as London hit him repeatedly, Khan said. He also kicked the cop while on the ground, Khan said.
The 28-year-old Harvin, who recently returned from Iraq, was stopped by officers after trying to enter his mother's West 93rd Street housing project without a key.
The video shows Harvin shoving London in front of a group of people. The officer and Harvin then exchange words, inaudible on the tape.
After a few moments London proceeds to strike Harvin with his baton and continues doing so while Khan tries to cuff him. London hits Harvin at least 20 times.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Stop the Stop-and-Frisk Databank
Last year the NYPD stopped and interrogated enough completely innocent people to fill Yankee Stadium nine times over.
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called the Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices "Jim Crow policing" because the targets of this abuse are almost always people of color, and they are almost always stopped without cause.
Making matters worse, hundreds of thousands of these innocent people are subjected to the added injustice of having their personal information stored indefinitely in a sprawling NYPD database. With this vast database, the NYPD has turned more than 1 million innocent black and Latino New Yorkers into criminal suspects.
But the push back has begun. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Eric Adams have introduced a bill that would protect New Yorkers’ privacy and due process rights by barring police departments from keeping computer databases of innocent people who are stopped, questioned or frisked by police officers.
We need to act now. Time is running out before the end of the legislative session!
Tell Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader John Sampson and your local representatives to stand up and support the Stop-and-Frisk Database Bill.
We are so close to ending this invasion of privacy.
If even half of you contact your legislative leaders, we can shut down the NYPD's stop-and-frisk databank.
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called the Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices "Jim Crow policing" because the targets of this abuse are almost always people of color, and they are almost always stopped without cause.
Making matters worse, hundreds of thousands of these innocent people are subjected to the added injustice of having their personal information stored indefinitely in a sprawling NYPD database. With this vast database, the NYPD has turned more than 1 million innocent black and Latino New Yorkers into criminal suspects.
But the push back has begun. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Eric Adams have introduced a bill that would protect New Yorkers’ privacy and due process rights by barring police departments from keeping computer databases of innocent people who are stopped, questioned or frisked by police officers.
We need to act now. Time is running out before the end of the legislative session!
Tell Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader John Sampson and your local representatives to stand up and support the Stop-and-Frisk Database Bill.
We are so close to ending this invasion of privacy.
If even half of you contact your legislative leaders, we can shut down the NYPD's stop-and-frisk databank.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Who's Policing the police?
You've read the headlines and seen the videos: A cop caught repeatedly beating a man curled up on the street. Or an officer spotted delivering a vicious shoulder check to a biker in Times Square. The stories are shocking, but the NYPD's response is all too often unsurprising: It regularly turns a blind eye to officer misconduct.
But there's momentum building in New York City to strengthen oversight of the NYPD. In just the past month, the City Council has introduced two bills that would give some muscle to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the city body intended to provide accountability for acts of police misconduct.
As part of the NYCLU's continuing Civil Liberties Discussion Series, NYCLU Legislative Director Robert Perry will discuss ways to deal with NYPD misconduct and how to have real oversight over the police.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in our offices at 125 Broad Street on the 19th floor.
Following the presentation, we will discuss how we can work together to achieve meaningful reform of New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board. Pizza will be provided to get the conversation going.
Please be sure to RSVP by emailing discussionseries (at)nyclu.org or calling (212) 607-3358.
But there's momentum building in New York City to strengthen oversight of the NYPD. In just the past month, the City Council has introduced two bills that would give some muscle to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the city body intended to provide accountability for acts of police misconduct.
As part of the NYCLU's continuing Civil Liberties Discussion Series, NYCLU Legislative Director Robert Perry will discuss ways to deal with NYPD misconduct and how to have real oversight over the police.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in our offices at 125 Broad Street on the 19th floor.
Following the presentation, we will discuss how we can work together to achieve meaningful reform of New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board. Pizza will be provided to get the conversation going.
Please be sure to RSVP by emailing discussionseries (at)nyclu.org or calling (212) 607-3358.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The NYPD
Last year the NYPD stopped and interrogated enough completely innocent people to fill Yankee Stadium nine times over.
This month, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called the Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices "Jim Crow policing" because not only are police stopping hundreds of thousands of innocent people every year, but 85 percent of those stopped are black or Latino.
The New York Civil Liberties Union has been leading the fight against the NYPD's racial profiling for years. We have shown that hundreds of thousands of innocent people are subjected to the added injustice of having their personal information stored indefinitely in a sprawling NYPD database. With this vast database, the NYPD has turned more than 1 million innocent black and Latino New Yorkers into criminal suspects.
But the push back has begun.
Last week, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn sent a letter to Police Chief Ray Kelly demanding that the NYPD stop collecting the personal information of innocent New Yorkers stopped by the police, and telling the Department to delete the information it's already collected.
Contact Speaker Quinn to thank her for her important stand and to urge her to keep the pressure on. And call 311 and tell Mayor Bloomberg to scale back the NYPD's overly aggressive stop-and-frisk policy and to stop collecting the personal information of innocent New Yorkers stopped by the police.
We are so close to ending this invasion of privacy. The Police Department is feeling immense public pressure and said - for the first time ever - that it is reconsidering its practice of keeping the personal information of innocent New Yorkers in its database. We need to keep the pressure on.
Contact Speaker Quinn right now, and forward this email to every New Yorker you know. We can win this one - we just need your help.
Thank you for all that you do,
- The New York Civil Liberties Union
This month, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called the Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices "Jim Crow policing" because not only are police stopping hundreds of thousands of innocent people every year, but 85 percent of those stopped are black or Latino.
The New York Civil Liberties Union has been leading the fight against the NYPD's racial profiling for years. We have shown that hundreds of thousands of innocent people are subjected to the added injustice of having their personal information stored indefinitely in a sprawling NYPD database. With this vast database, the NYPD has turned more than 1 million innocent black and Latino New Yorkers into criminal suspects.
But the push back has begun.
Last week, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn sent a letter to Police Chief Ray Kelly demanding that the NYPD stop collecting the personal information of innocent New Yorkers stopped by the police, and telling the Department to delete the information it's already collected.
Contact Speaker Quinn to thank her for her important stand and to urge her to keep the pressure on. And call 311 and tell Mayor Bloomberg to scale back the NYPD's overly aggressive stop-and-frisk policy and to stop collecting the personal information of innocent New Yorkers stopped by the police.
We are so close to ending this invasion of privacy. The Police Department is feeling immense public pressure and said - for the first time ever - that it is reconsidering its practice of keeping the personal information of innocent New Yorkers in its database. We need to keep the pressure on.
Contact Speaker Quinn right now, and forward this email to every New Yorker you know. We can win this one - we just need your help.
Thank you for all that you do,
- The New York Civil Liberties Union
Monday, February 8, 2010
NYPD Prospect Park sodomy case continues
A doctor delivered graphic testimony in the NYPD sodomy case Tuesday, saying alleged victim Michael Mineo suffered excruciating tears he couldn't have caused himself.
Dr. Syed Ahmed said the injuries described in a medical report were consistent with being rammed by a police baton.
"It looks like he had anal lacerations," said Ahmed, who didn't examine Mineo but was the supervisor when he checked into Brookdale University Hospital.
He said Mineo, 25, complained of "pain of a maximum intensity" after his Oct. 15, 2008, confrontation with police at the Prospect Park subway station.
Read more:
Dr. Syed Ahmed said the injuries described in a medical report were consistent with being rammed by a police baton.
"It looks like he had anal lacerations," said Ahmed, who didn't examine Mineo but was the supervisor when he checked into Brookdale University Hospital.
He said Mineo, 25, complained of "pain of a maximum intensity" after his Oct. 15, 2008, confrontation with police at the Prospect Park subway station.
Read more:
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
A broken system?
A Boston tourist says in an exclusive NY1 report that he is scarred for life after a New York City police officer allegedly brutalized him during an arrest last month. NY1's Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report.
When Anthony Daly of Boston visited the city last month, he walked around normally. But his leg was broken in three places on December 27, the night he was taken into police custody at a Midtown hotel, and now doctors now say Daly may never walk the same way again. Source
When Anthony Daly of Boston visited the city last month, he walked around normally. But his leg was broken in three places on December 27, the night he was taken into police custody at a Midtown hotel, and now doctors now say Daly may never walk the same way again. Source
Friday, January 29, 2010
NYPD caught on tape
The footage is grainy but one cop can clearly be seen pulling back his leg and slamming his foot into the man, while two others land blows with their fists.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Special Treatment
Howard Safir, a New York City police commissioner during the Giuliani administration, backed his sport utility vehicle into a pregnant woman on the Upper East Side on Friday afternoon and then drove away, the police said. The woman, Joanne M. Valarezo, 30, of the Bronx, was not knocked down and was not seriously injured in the accident, which occurred at 2:25 p.m. in front of 1418 Third Avenue, the authorities said. They said she was able to jot down the license plate of Mr. Safir’s black 2009 Cadillac Escalade. More
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Email buddy
Approximately 12,000 residents of East Flatbushwill soon find themselves on the 67th Precinct’s email list.
The effort, starting in the new year, will enable the precinct to keep in contact with those who live and work in the community, particularly with respect to problems that may occur locally, said Captain Jeffrey Schiff, the precinct’s executive officer.
Schiff revealed the details of the new initiative during the December meeting of Community Board 17, which was held in the gymnasium at St. Therese of Lisieux, Troy Avenue and Avenue D. More
The effort, starting in the new year, will enable the precinct to keep in contact with those who live and work in the community, particularly with respect to problems that may occur locally, said Captain Jeffrey Schiff, the precinct’s executive officer.
Schiff revealed the details of the new initiative during the December meeting of Community Board 17, which was held in the gymnasium at St. Therese of Lisieux, Troy Avenue and Avenue D. More
Friday, January 1, 2010
Blue on Blue violence?
Many of the comments on this blog are complaining about how black cops treat other Black people in flatbush. Many of you think it has to do with black cops adopting a viewpoint, similar to what had happen in Apartheid South Africa. This story illustrates some of the comments.
from gothamist...
Sgt. Reginald McReynolds, a 19 year veteran of the NYPD, was returning to his girlfriend's Bronx apartment with their Chinese food one night at the end of October when he was stopped by a rookie cop and his partner. Officers Kyle Bach and Joseph Azevedo, who are white, were responding to a domestic dispute call in the building. The perp was described as in his late 20s and weighing about 150 pounds; McReynolds is a 42-year-old black man weighing in at 275 pounds. Nevertheless, McReynolds says Bach "came right up in my face and said, 'What fucking apartment are you going to?'" It's no surprise that the ensuing exchange wasn't all that courteous, professional, or respectful. Read more
What do you guys think?
from gothamist...
Sgt. Reginald McReynolds, a 19 year veteran of the NYPD, was returning to his girlfriend's Bronx apartment with their Chinese food one night at the end of October when he was stopped by a rookie cop and his partner. Officers Kyle Bach and Joseph Azevedo, who are white, were responding to a domestic dispute call in the building. The perp was described as in his late 20s and weighing about 150 pounds; McReynolds is a 42-year-old black man weighing in at 275 pounds. Nevertheless, McReynolds says Bach "came right up in my face and said, 'What fucking apartment are you going to?'" It's no surprise that the ensuing exchange wasn't all that courteous, professional, or respectful. Read more
What do you guys think?
Monday, December 21, 2009
What you got to hide?
A judge Monday ordered the NYPD to turn over the racial breakdown of all people shot at by police officers between 1997 and 2006.
The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the NYPD in 2008 for racial data about shooting victims.
The NYPD agreed to release the racial breakdown of those injured by police gunfire, but not data about those who were shot at but not hit.
In an opinion dated Dec. 15, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden ruled the NYPD had not met its burden under the state's Freedom of Information Law to withhold the data.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Please Help
The City Council will vote next Monday to rename the street that Sean Bell was murdered in to Sean Bell Way. The disgraceful president of the Detective's Union has called the renaming of a street for an innocent young man with a child, a fiance and an all around great family a disgrace. Please contact your city council member. Although this happened in Queens, this could have easily happen in Flatbush. Flatbush is monitored by the precinct (70th) that gave us Justin Volpe and the blueprint for the blue wall of silence. Make sure that Mr. Bell's murder will never be disregarded. The real disgrace in this tragedy is the NYPD and the Detective's Union who refuses to own up to this atrocious crime. Most of us in Flatbush is represented by Mathieu Eugene. Please Stop by, call, write, fax and email to make sure he supports the bill.
Email: mathieu.eugene(at) council.nyc.gov
District Office Address
Mathieu Eugene
123 Linden Boulevard
Brooklyn, New York 11226
District Office Phone
718-287-8762
District Office Fax
718-287-8917
Legislative Office Address
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Legislative Office Phone
212-788-7352
Legislative Office Fax
212-788-8087
If you don't live in Flatbush we need your support too. Find out who your representative is here
Email: mathieu.eugene(at) council.nyc.gov
District Office Address
Mathieu Eugene
123 Linden Boulevard
Brooklyn, New York 11226
District Office Phone
718-287-8762
District Office Fax
718-287-8917
Legislative Office Address
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Legislative Office Phone
212-788-7352
Legislative Office Fax
212-788-8087
If you don't live in Flatbush we need your support too. Find out who your representative is here
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Federal Judge reads the riot act to lying cops
A respected federal judge slammed the NYPD Monday as plagued by "widespread falsification by arresting officers."
Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein delivered the disturbing appraisal in a four-page decision refusing to throw out a multimillion dollar suit against the city filed by two men who were busted on bogus narcotics charges.
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