New York City Cop Testifies That He Was Told To Target Young Black Men

[MrScorpio]

As hearings are under way to investigate New York City’s stop and frisk policy, one police officer is testifying that he was told by superiors to target young black men between the ages of 14 and 21.

Stop and frisk is a method of searching people in which a cop is able to stop someone he or she suspects of a crime, and is able to frisk that individual if they feel that there is some justification. New York City policy made 685,724 stops as part of the policy in 2011 alone. In total, they have made over 5 million stops, and 85 percent of those stopped were black or Latino.
Officer Pedro Serrano, in court to testify yesterday, played a covert recording he’d obtained of an interaction with his superior where he was told the race of people to target, though not that he should stop everyone of that race:

Stop “the right people, the right time, the right location,” Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormack is heard saying on the recording.
“He meant blacks and Hispanics,” Officer Pedro Serrano, who made the secret recording, testified Thursday in Manhattan federal court.

“So what am I supposed to do: Stop every black and Hispanic?” Serrano was heard saying on the tape, which was recorded last month at the 40th Precinct in the Bronx.[…]

“I have no problem telling you this,” the inspector said on the tape. “Male blacks. And I told you at roll call, and I have no problem [to] tell you this, male blacks 14 to 21.”

During cross examination, City lawyer Brenda Cooke got Serrano to admit that McCormack never said he wanted Serrano to stop all blacks and Hispanics.

“Those specific words, no,” he told her.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/22/1761621/black-men-stop-frisk-recording/

[HipChick]

1. Am I shocked? No..Black males are endangered

by NYPD..

[ZombieHorde]

2. Holy fucking shit. nt

[marmar]

3. Infuriating, but tragically unsurprising.

Ain't that America, for you and me......

[malaise]

8. Why do you think it's just America

Poor young men with African roots are victims everywhere.

[marmar]

9. Oh, I know that. Just speaking about the place I'm most familiar with.

nt

[malaise]

10. We had 200 plus extra-judicial killings in 2011 and 2012

In January cops killed 31 young men - one a freaking day.

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. This is part of a civil suit designed to force NYPD to reform its practices.

Officer Serrano helped clarify how the program is racist in intent, as well as implementations.

And even though New York decriminalized pot possession in the 1970s, NYPD also likes to illegally reach into people's pockets or belongings or intimidate them into pulling out their baggies and then arrest them for the crime of possession "in public view" instead of writing them a ticket as the decrim law mandates.

A study released last week said NYPD had spent a million hours on pot arrests in the past decade.

This is just a small part of the problems with NYPD. They appear immune to effective oversight.

[Logical]

5. The stop and frisk policy is a crock of shit. Most of the stops are not reasonable suspicion of....

a crime. They just make up shit to search them.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Bloomberg's NYPD, more racist than ever. And that's saying something.

nt

[Baitball Blogger]

7. No surprise there.

Not only do minorities get more scrutiny by the criminal justice officials, but non-minorities don't get any scrutiny at all.

It's a double-whammy filtering system.

[X_Digger]

11. 87-90% of those stopped are totally innocent (depending on year).

The NYCLU has a quick summary of the data-

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

.....
--In 2009, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 581,168 times.
510,742 were totally innocent (88 percent).
310,611 were black (55 percent).
180,055 were Latino (32 percent).
53,601 were white (10 percent).
289,602 were aged 14-24 (50 percent).

--In 2010, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 601,285 times.
518,849 were totally innocent (86 percent).
315,083 were black (54 percent).
189,326 were Latino (33 percent).
54,810 were white (9 percent).
295,902 were aged 14-24 (49 percent).

--In 2011, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 685,724 times.
605,328 were totally innocent (88 percent).
350,743 were black (53 percent).
223,740 were Latino (34 percent).
61,805 were white (9 percent).
341,581 were aged 14-24 (51 percent).

--In 2012, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 533,042 times
473,300 were totally innocent (89 percent).
286,684 were black (55 percent).
166,212 were Latino (32 percent).
50,615 were white (10 percent).

[AnotherMcIntosh]

12. The actual percentage of factually innocent people may be even higher. The innocent citizens who

just want to get on with their lives and enter into plea bargains are counted in the guilty group.

When some people hear the words "Enter into a plea deal and you can go home," some will take the deal.

[X_Digger]

13. Good point.

Also notice the racial makeup of those stopped.. 9-10% white.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

16. Some are not upset with this official ongoing racist activity because Bloomberg is a

gun-controller.

[In_The_Wind]

14. As a New Yorker: I am not surprised.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. It should be known that some DUers support Bloomberg, who is not a Democrat and does not

support Civil Rights, because he opposes the private ownership of firearms.

Millions of Democrats own firearms for home defense and other lawful purposes. Bloomberg, who is behind the unconstitutional stop-and-frisk activity in New York, is not one.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Walking while back (or brown) while young

Is a crime. In certain sections it's age independent, and not just NYC

[Solly Mack]

18. K&R