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The NYPD’s disciplining of three officers involved in the wrongful arrests of Council Member Jumaane D. Williams and Public Advocate aide Kirsten John Foy is a welcome step, but it does not address systemic injustices that lead to hundreds of thousands of black and Latino New Yorkers being unlawfully stopped, interrogated and pushed into the criminal justice system by police each year, Council Member Williams, Mr. Foy and the New York Civil Liberties Union announced today at a press conference.
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau recently notified Williams and Foy, director of community affairs for the city Public Advocate’s Office, that there is sufficient evidence to discipline three officers involved in an incident in which the public officials, who are black, were unlawfully arrested at the West Indian Day Parade on Sept. 5 in Brooklyn.
“I am pleased that discipline will be meted out as a result of this incident, particularly that a supervising officer was held accountable,” Williams said. “However, as I have said previously, this issue is bigger than Kirsten and I. This needs to be a teachable moment for the NYPD as to its unjust encounters with the hundreds of thousands of black and Latino New Yorkers that are subject to a discriminatory police culture every day. For real justice to be achieved, their stories must be heard and policy change must occur. I hope Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly are just as serious as we are about achieving real justice and that they are willing to do what it takes to heal these communities and this city.” Read more »
Filed under: activism, new york, New York State Politics, News | Tagged: New York City Police Department, New York Civil Liberties Union, NYCLU, NYPD | 2 Comments »
