STOP & FRISK

In 2009 there were approximately 575,000 “Stop & Frisk” reports filed by NYPD officers. Of these, only about 6% resulted in arrests, and another 6% resulted in a summons being issued. The position of the Police Department is that Stop & Frisks are an effective crime-fighting tool.  The Department holds onto the information it gathers in each Stop & Frisk “indefinitely,” with the intention of using that information, if necessary, in future investigations. Between 2004 and 2009 there were 2,798,461 “Stops” by the police, and 2,467,160 resulted in no action at all, yet each person stopped has a record with personal information on file with the police.

Certain members of the New York City Council have demanded that all the individuals, in instances where either no action was taken at the time of the “Stop”, or where action may have been taken but the person was later found “not guilty”, or was exonerated in some other way, be removed entirely from this database.  The majority of individuals affected are minorities (Black and Latino).

The final outcome of this tug of war between the New York City Police Department and the City Council has yet to be determined.  I will note, personally, as a former New York City council member, that it is my belief that any recalcitrance by the Police Department can be overcome by the City Council through the passage of legislation, if that is truly the Council’s desire.

On the evening of December 26th, 2009 off-duty Sergeant Reginald McReynolds of the NYPD was taking dinner to his girlfriends apartment when a pair of Bronx Police Officers stopped him.

Sgt. McReynolds claims that he was thrown around and racially profiled for being black by overly aggressive officers Officers Kyle Bach and Joseph Azevedo of the 52nd Precinct.

“I was minding my business,” McReynolds told the Daily News. “I can think of no other reason for being stopped but my skin color.”

“This incident has opened my eyes,” added McReynolds. McReynolds audits crime statistics and is assigned to the Quality Assurance Division.

Bach “came right up in my face and said, ‘What f—— apartment are you going to?'”
“He took out his penlight and shined it right in my eyes blinding me,” McReynolds said. “I let him know I’m on the job and was looking for my wallet and he struck me in the neck with his [baton].”

“[Bach] said to me, ‘I’m gonna take your pension today,'” McReynolds said.

Officers Azevedo and Bach were called to the building regarding a domestic violence dispute. They claim they believed Sgt. McReynolds to be the boyfriend of the woman involved with the domestic dispute. This claim seems suspect because Sgt. McReynolds is 42 years old and weighs 275lbs while the suspect is in his late 20’s and weighs around 150lbs.

“There’s no way in the world I fit the description of that guy,” he said.

McReynolds has now been charged with pushing Officer Azevedo, manipulating his girlfriend into saying he was being assaulted, and resisting the cops. He has served the people of New York for 19 years and has never gotten a civilian complaint or a command discipline. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of racial profiling contact one of our New York Personal Injury Attorneys at Orlow, Orlow, & Orlow.

Source: NY Daily News

A prominent African-American Harvard professor is arrested by a police sergeant in Massachusetts.   The President comments about the arrest, and the nation is riveted by the issue for the following several days.  Truth be told, people are arrested for “disorderly conduct” in every city in the nation , every day of the year.  The single most valuable statement made by the President with respect to this incident is that it offers all of us a “teachable moment”.
For those of us dealing with Police Misconduct on a daily basis, the circumstances of this case are exceedingly familiar.   Several valid points can be made with respect to this type of an arrest:
— Police will often take offense at conduct that they deem disrespectful toward themselves.  Cooperate fully, or suffer the consequences, is a widespread rule among police.
— Depending on the amount of emotion involved, and in the absence of any actual crime being committed, an officer may choose to “have the last laugh” and place the person annoying him under arrest, usually for Disorderly Conduct.  This, at the least, results in handcuffing and a visit to the police station.
—This happens to  whites, blacks and Latinos.  However, it is incontrovertible that vastly more minorities are both stopped and interrogated, leading to many more opportunities for “confrontations” to occur, which in turn leads to many more “Disorderly Conduct” arrests among minorities.
— The history of police-minority relations, especially between police and African Americans, cannot be erased from the collective memory of those who have suffered, and from their descendants who have heard the stories of their forebears’ experiences.   It stands to reason that such collective memory will influence the perceptions concerning police actions.