Off duty, black cops in New York feel threat from fellow police

Link to article quoted below.

Quote :

(Reuters) - From the dingy donut shops of Manhattan to the cloistered police watering holes in Brooklyn, a number of black NYPD officers say they have experienced the same racial profiling that cost Eric Garner his life.

Garner, a 43-year-old black man suspected of illegally peddling loose cigarettes, died in July after a white officer put him in a chokehold. His death, and that of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, has sparked a slew of nationwide protests against police tactics. On Saturday, those tensions escalated after a black gunman, who wrote of avenging the black deaths on social media, shot dead two New York policemen.

The protests and the ambush of the uniformed officers pose a major challenge for New York Mayor Bill De Blasio. The mayor must try to ease damaged relations with a police force that feels he hasn’t fully supported them, while at the same time bridging a chasm with communities who say the police unfairly target them.

What’s emerging now is that, within the thin blue line of the NYPD, there is another divide - between black and white officers.

Reuters interviewed 25 African American male officers on the NYPD, 15 of whom are retired and 10 of whom are still serving. All but one said that, when off duty and out of uniform, they had been victims of racial profiling, which refers to using race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed a crime.

The officers said this included being pulled over for no reason, having their heads slammed against their cars, getting guns brandished in their faces, being thrown into prison vans and experiencing stop and frisks while shopping. The majority of the officers said they had been pulled over multiple times while driving. Five had had guns pulled on them.

Desmond Blaize, who retired two years ago as a sergeant in the 41st Precinct in the Bronx, said he once got stopped while taking a jog through Brooklyn’s upmarket Prospect Park. "I had my ID on me so it didn’t escalate," said Blaize, who has sued the department alleging he was racially harassed on the job. "But what’s suspicious about a jogger? In jogging clothes?"

The NYPD and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the police officers’ union, declined requests for comment. However, defenders of the NYPD credit its policing methods with transforming New York from the former murder capital of the world into the safest big city in the United States.



EX-POLICE CHIEF SKEPTICAL

"It makes good headlines to say this is occurring, but I don’t think you can validate it until you look into the circumstances they were stopped in," said Bernard Parks, the former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, who is African American.

"Now if you want to get into the essence of why certain groups are stopped more than others, then you only need to go to the crime reports and see which ethnic groups are listed more as suspects. That’s the crime data the officers are living with."

Blacks made up 73 percent of the shooting perpetrators in New York in 2011 and were 23 percent of the population.

A number of academics believe those statistics are potentially skewed because police over-focus on black communities, while ignoring crime in other areas. They also note that being stopped as a suspect does not automatically equate to criminality. Nearly 90 percent of blacks stopped by the NYPD, for example, are found not to be engaged in any crime.

The black officers interviewed said they had been racially profiled by white officers exclusively, and about one third said they made some form of complaint to a supervisor.

All but one said their supervisors either dismissed the complaints or retaliated against them by denying them overtime, choice assignments, or promotions. The remaining officers who made no complaints said they refrained from doing so either because they feared retribution or because they saw racial profiling as part of the system.

In declining to comment to Reuters, the NYPD did not respond to a specific request for data showing the racial breakdown of officers who made complaints and how such cases were handled.

White officers were not the only ones accused of wrongdoing. Civilian complaints against police officers are in direct proportion to their demographic makeup on the force, according to the NYPD’s Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Indeed, some of the officers Reuters interviewed acknowledged that they themselves had been defendants in lawsuits, with allegations ranging from making a false arrest to use of excessive force. Such claims against police are not uncommon in New York, say veterans.

STUDIES FIND INHERENT BIAS

Still, social psychologists from Stanford and Yale universities and John Jay College of Criminal Justice have conducted research – including the 2004 study "Seeing Black: Race, Crime and Visual Processing" - showing there is an implicit racial bias in the American psyche that correlates black maleness with crime.

John Jay professor Delores Jones-Brown cited a 2010 New York State Task Force report on police-on-police shootings - the first such inquiry of its kind - that found that in the previous 15 years, officers of color had suffered the highest fatalities in encounters with police officers who mistook them for criminals.

There’s evidence that aggressive policing in the NYPD is intensifying, according to data from the New York City Comptroller.

Police misconduct claims - including lawsuits against police for using the kind of excessive force that killed Garner - have risen 214 percent since 2000, while the amount the city paid out has risen 75 percent in the same period, to $64.4 million in fiscal year 2012, the last year for which data is available.



REPORTING ABUSE

People who have taken part in the marches against Garner's death - and that of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown - say they are protesting against the indignity of being stopped by police for little or no reason as much as for the deaths themselves.

“There’s no real outlet to report the abuse,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain who said he was stigmatized and retaliated against throughout his 22-year career for speaking out against racial profiling and police brutality.

Officers make complaints to the NYPD’s investigative arm, the Internal Affairs Bureau, only to later have their identities leaked, said Adams.

One of the better-known cases of alleged racial profiling of a black policeman concerns Harold Thomas, a decorated detective who retired this year after 30 years of service, including in New York's elite Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Shortly before 1 a.m. one night in August 2012, Thomas was leaving a birthday party at a trendy New York nightclub.

Wearing flashy jewelry, green sweatpants and a white t-shirt, Thomas walked toward his brand-new white Escalade when two white police officers approached him. What happened next is in dispute, but an altercation ensued, culminating in Thomas getting his head smashed against the hood of his car and then spun to the ground and put in handcuffs.

“If I was white, it wouldn’t have happened,” said Thomas, who has filed a lawsuit against the city over the incident. The New York City Corporation Counsel said it could not comment on pending litigation.

At an ale house in Williamsburg, Brooklyn last week, a group of black police officers from across the city gathered for the beer and chicken wing special. They discussed how the officers involved in the Garner incident could have tried harder to talk down an upset Garner, or sprayed mace in his face, or forced him to the ground without using a chokehold. They all agreed his death was avoidable.

Said one officer from the 106th Precinct in Queens, “That could have been any one of us.”

The biggest thing is if you are NOT breaking a law or in the vicinity of crimes and criminals, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.. I NEVER heard of any cop that went to work with the intention of pulling his gun to kill somebody.. If you hang around with criminals, you should expect cops to show up ready to arrest them..

I guess you didn't read the article, Jake.

I certainly wouldn't read that article and conclude that blacks... even black cops... have nothing to worry about from the cops.

Jake92 wrote:

The biggest thing is if you are NOT breaking a law or in the vicinity of crimes and criminals, there shouldn't be anything to worry about..  I NEVER heard of any cop that went to work with the intention of pulling his gun to kill somebody..  If you hang around with criminals, you should expect cops to show up ready to arrest them..

Same ole same ole....if there's an article/opinion that cops are bad or corrupt etc., then it's got to be true...Once again as the article quoted.. 'if I was white this wouldn't have happened' because everyone knows that there's never been a white cop working undercover that was challenged by uniformed officers. Could if even be possible that the black officer's perception may not be correct?..Imagine the officers approaching people that attended a party to find out what had happened at the party...somehow that is now considered 'racial profiling'....Racial profiling is a term that is thrown around and there's never been a clear explanation as to what it is or should be done away with...In NYC de blasio wanted all race terminology to be removed from bolo's and other means to identify suspects....that will help officers in conducting their jobs...

So this is a lie, MW?

Quote :

John Jay professor Delores Jones-Brown cited a 2010 New York State Task Force report on police-on-police shootings - the first such inquiry of its kind - that found that in the previous 15 years, officers of color had suffered the highest fatalities in encounters with police officers who mistook them for criminals.

How in hell can a BOLO be worthwhile without a race description? That's asinine.

How about some more FACTS

AP Study about diversity

The study, based on Census data and 2007 federal figures for police diversity, shows that:

*  Whites make up 33 percent of New York City’s population and 54 percent of the NYPD.
*  Blacks represent 23 percent of the city’s population and 16 percent of the NYPD. (But these cops get killed more often by police than any other race.)

---

From http://www.nyclu.org/content/stop-and-frisk-data

In 2013, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 191,558 times.
169,252 were totally innocent (88 percent).
104,958 were black (56 percent).  (Wikipedia reports NYC is 25.1% black)
55,191 were Latino (29 percent).
20,877 were white (11 percent).

The facts clearly show that racial profiling is alive and well in NYC.  This is not innuendo or hearsay.

Eric wrote:

How in hell can a BOLO be worthwhile without a race description?  That's asinine.

Because that was the first knee jerk reaction by the newly elected de blasio...Of course it's asinine... Just like the stop and frisk restrictions that were implemented...

Eric wrote:

How about some more FACTS

AP Study about diversity

The study, based on Census data and 2007 federal figures for police diversity, shows that:

*  Whites make up 33 percent of New York City’s population and 54 percent of the NYPD.
*  Blacks represent 23 percent of the city’s population and 16 percent of the NYPD. (But these cops get killed more often by police than any other race.)

---

From http://www.nyclu.org/content/stop-and-frisk-data

In 2013, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 191,558 times.
169,252 were totally innocent (88 percent).
104,958 were black (56 percent).  (Wikipedia reports NYC is 25.1% black)
55,191 were Latino (29 percent).
20,877 were white (11 percent).

The facts clearly show that racial profiling is alive and well in NYC.  This is not innuendo or hearsay.

Well that's been taken care of with the restrictions or stopping of the stop and frisk being used...Now officers will not be proactive and should they see any individual in an area of crime they'll do what is expected of them...drive on by....Stop and frisk is not racial profiling and like eric holder that throws around the term and how he'll stop it then he's never defined it... Under what some say any encounter with a person of color is racial profiling---that's not me that's the words of the cowh...holder...de blasio...etc.,...

If there is a bolo for four white males in a white [whatever type of vehicle] and suddenly there are officers stopping vehicles with all black males in a different color vehicle then they certainly should be accountable/responsible for their actions and whether they were in a lawful place conducting their duties in a lawful manner...

Several years ago right here when this topic of racial profiling was a hot topic...The naacp and movement of change began a campaign accusing the ecso of racial profiling and how the numbers of blacks and other minorities were out of proportion with the population of this county and they were being targeted [ticketed] at a far higher rate...

Because of this Sheriff's Lowman and McNesby implemented policy of a coding system for traffic stops and any police encounter which would indicated....age.. race...and the final disposition of the stop [arrest/warning/citation] to be recorded...This system is still in place...
When the numbers were compiled....3-1 whites to other minorities with encounters and 4-1 whites to other minorities on traffic stops...Funny part there were no retractions from the pnj for the allegations and neither the movement of change or naacp offered an explanation for their wrong accusations...

Taken care of?  Yeah, right.

Eliminating stop and frisk may reduce the number of stops, but I doubt it will change anything related to racial profiling.

Got any proof?

Eric wrote:

Taken care of?  Yeah, right.

Eliminating stop and frisk may reduce the number of stops, but I doubt it will change anything related to racial profiling.

Got any proof?

The criminals like the new procedure and now NYC will pay for a non-proactive police force....'

This started back when Rudy was mayor and he was hated by some for wanting to clean up the streets of NYC..He and the police force did clean up the city especially around Times Square which is now business and family friendly which is far from what it was...Even Bloomberg had some goofy ideas but knew that the protection of NYC was a high priority...This de blasio came in with the misconception that the force was racist and out of control and now he's lost all respect from not only the rank and file but the upper echelon officers....He like the cowh can't help themselves from running to the cameras and blaming prior to an investigation barely even starting and if a Grand Jury or Jury reaches a conclusion against what they believe or want then they ratchet up the rhetoric to what becomes a dangerous level...

No proof of anything, MW. Just rhetoric. I had figures to back up my statements.

Eric wrote:

No proof of anything, MW.  Just rhetoric.  I had figures to back up my statements.

Never once disputed the figures you presented and/or called them lies...simply passed along another example where the allegations didn't meet the actual facts...That's not just 'rhetoric' and not a denial that there are not race problems in all aspects of society that need to be addressed but lately there has been nothing done in the way of solution it's been simply blame and more blame...We now see the effects of the coverage and blame...

It's law enforcement that always wrong....it's the prosecutor/defender that's wrong...it's the judicial system that's wrong...not once with any of the same media coverage has the criminal/thug element ever been blamed without some kind of explanation and/or excuse to somehow soften their actions...

We see t-shirts coming out making victims out of the thugs...we see the parents being afforded a status that makes them a voice for what they are convinced is victimization....we witnessed Brown's stepfather call to burn this bitch down and it happened...we've seen bounties placed on officer's heads and the doj buries it's head in the sand or elsewhere...We've seen actors [Samuel Jackson] on You Tube saying gotta get the racist cops...the chants of what do we want...dead cops...when do we want it...now.... and yet somehow that is excused of accepted out of the emotions of the situation...As posted before there are MANY that need to look in the mirrors and take a look at their rhetoric and see if it's lending to any kind of solution that's not a negative...

We've seen college students at petitioning the administration for black and other minority students to be excused from tests and or failing grades because they have been so effected for the recent events that they are unable for focus....in Ohio the university denied this bs but look at where we are....race can be used as an excuse in almost every aspect of life and people listen and in some cases are too chicken____ to call bs and move along....There can be no open discussion because any disagreement leads to a charge of being racist...

I've said many times here that there was surprise that the grand jury didn't indict in the garner case... However, they listened to the evidence and testimony and came to their conclusion...as in any decision there is disagreement and the legal course of action is still attainable on the civil side of matters and believe that there will be compensation due to his family...

You have to sympathize with the NYPD. Believing that you are being aggressively and unfairly policed is a horrible feeling.- LOLGOP