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The City Council questioned Police Commissioner Ray Kelly about NYPD tactics in the wake of the fatal shooting of Sean Bell. The Council was aggressive and straightforward; for instance, Councilman David Yassky said , "Too many African-American New Yorkers feel that they are at risk or that their family members are at risk of mistreatment, whether it be to be stopped without reason or to be victimized by excessive force."
Councilman Charles Barron asked Kelly to resign: "I ask that you do the graceful thing and resign; I say that because you have allowed this to happen." In fact, Kelly and Barron got into a heated exchange. From the Daily News:
Kelly bristled as Barron blasted the NYPD's recent decision to suspend a white cop for 30 days as punishment for the 2004 fatal shooting of Timothy Stansbury, an unarmed black teenager.Stansbury's death was ruled an accident, but yesterday Barron seethed, "It was a cold-blooded killing."
That accusation prompted Kelly to fume, "Oh, come on, come on! How do you know that?"
Barron, a former Black Panther, refused to back down, saying incidents like the Stansbury and Bell shootings are "why people disrespect and don't trust the police force."
"There's no doubt that you'll never trust the police force," Kelly responded.
Commissioner Kelly refuted claims that the NYPD used racially profiling, saying, "Officers are stopping those they reasonably suspect of committing a crime, based on descriptions and circumstances, and not on personal bias." He also noted how diverse NYPD recruiting has become. The NY Sun reported Councilwoman Helen Foster said, "This is real. So when you say that this is not racially motivated … it doesn't matter because you're not the person being racially profiled." This hearing was the first of three scheduled hearings to discuss NYPD practices.
And Joseph Guzman, one of two friends in the car with Bell during the shooting, was finally released from Jamaica Hospital. He had been in the hospital since the November shooting and still has six bullets in him.
Guzman, wearing a hoodie with "Sean Bell" written on it, said that when they were approached by the undercover police that night, they thought they were being robbed. "I don't hate the police. We need the police to make things right. But what they did that night was murder....I’m not anti-police; I don’t believe all police are bad. But the police that night were wrong. They committed a crime. Let them be accountable for it."
Photograph of Joseph Guzman being helped by friends like the Reverend Al Sharpton by Frank Franklin II
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to paraphrase chappelle,
calling all cars, calling all cars.
Be on the look out for a male black,
Between four nine and six five.
see also Chris Rock's educational documentary. Might be found on you tube, search for "chris rock avoid police"
also see C.R's comment about how no white person would trade places with him, AND he's rich.
not only is it funny #1, but it's an accurate description of 80 percent of violent criminals. carry on.
#4, it would suck if 80% all violent criminals posted as "stat" on websites, and you got shit for it every day. Imagine every day of your life being subject to suspicion because you happen to fit a general description. Yes, it would help catch cooks. But it's not fair to the innocent who were born fitting the description; it's something they can't change.
In America, we're supposed to err on the side of liberty. Are you a scaredy-cat, willing to dump the principles of our nation because you're so utterly frightened of criminals lurking around every corner?
I'll take a heaping dose of liberty rather than an overprotective nanny state any day. And I'll take my chances with the criminals, tough guy.
Nice sweatshirt.
Man, that Puff Daddy will cash in on ANYTHING!
i strongly support the aclu. but i also don't unilaterally fault nypd for making a few mistakes. if one demographic commits a large proportion of violent crimes, it follows that they will also be subjected to a large proportion of the mistakes. common sense.
"i also don't unilaterally fault nypd for making a few mistakes."
But the Sean Bell shooting looks like an *unacceptable* mistake, as was Diallo. (Seriously, how can you say otherwise.) NYPD ultimately has to show a willingness to learn from it, but so far they have not.
(Diallo, OTOH, resulted in the disbanding of the "street crimes" unit, if I remember correctly.)
they were mistakes. and they are few. but how can you say they are not learning from and reacting to them? the opposite is obvious. i'd venture to guess there are far fewer mistakes as history progresses. in any case, the finger-pointing wackjob above is still complaining about racism while quoting a comedian so i offer a dose of perspective.
I say that because there has been nothing stemming from this incident that indicates that the NYPD even views it as a mistake.
What I DO see is quotage from the PBA and its reps that blames the victims for being intoxicated (which doesn't justify the shooting) and of course we all heard the story of the mysterious 4th man and the discarded weapon (for which there is no evidence so far.)