May 11, 2008
Did Cops Racially Profile NYPD's Top Black Officer?
Yesterday, the Daily News reported that one police officer was stripped of his badge and gun "for ordering the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed black officer out of his auto while the three-star chief was off-duty and parked in Queens." Naturally, the incident has sparked outrage from both sides.
Two plainclothes cops, both white, approached a parked police-issued SUV in Corona and asked the driver to roll down the tinted windows. Chief Douglas Zeigler, who is in charge of the Community Affairs Bureau, told Police Commissioner Kelly the cops had no reason to approach the car. Additionally, one officer apparently "did not believe [Zeigler's] NYPD identification."
The cops claim they saw Zeigler's gun through the window, prompting them to draw their weapons and demand the driver out of the car. Per the Daily News' sources, the cops's story was "Instead of saying he was an armed member of the NYPD, Zeigler shouted, 'Don't you know who I am?'"
The NYPD confirmed that the disciplined officer, Michael Granahan, "dealt with the chief in a discourteous manner, which is unacceptable" and one of the cops tried to open the door after Zeigler identified himself. Granahan's father claims Zeigler showed him his ID only after smacking his son's hand away, saying "Don't you know who I am?" and "ranting and raving." And Granahan's mother telling the News, "Michael's girlfriend is black. We didn't raise our kids to be prejudiced. We're from the Bronx. We have every nationality around us."
State Senator Eric Adams, a former member of the NYPD, wants the NYPD to change its pedestrian stop policies and the incident made the Reverend Al Sharpton say, "You can't make this stuff up! The problem isn't that they didn't recognize him. It is that they don't recognize our rights!" And NYPD Confidential noticed in 2006 that there was an absence of high-ranking black police officers.
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Community Affairs Bureau. Hardly a frontline position on combating crime. Why is he carrying a gun? Are community board members packing also?
Did he work his way up through the ranks, or was he fast tracked due to his skin color? Three stars are a bit much, wouldn't just one be enough?
And to answer his question, "No I don't know who you are and why are you parked on a hydrant with dark tinted windows packing a gun? You're not waiting for your "girlfriend" are you?
HA HA! PWNED!
How could they see a gun inside a NYPD issued SUV?
Most of those cars are tinted to almost black.
God Bless You Chief Zeigler.
yeah yeah, everyone one says "don't you know who I am" what is this an old American Express commercial?
They should have black undercover cops do this more often just to test how racist the NYPD actually is
That's funny, I've sat in a parked car near a fire hydrant quite often for long periods of time and never been approached by a police officer, although there are plenty in the neighborhood, and even a police car idling on the same corner. I wonder why? I wonder if it's because I'm not a black male.
Sharpton needs to get shot by the NYPD.
Geez, Snoopy shows as little knowledge of NYPD as he did of FDNY. Why is he carrying a gun? All NYPD officers are issued guns. Three stars are a bit much? He's the chief of the CAB. A bureau chief has three stars -- no more, no less, and certainly not one star, which is a lowly deputy chief. [2] already addressed the tinting. It's more ridiculous that these guys couldn't spend the 30 seconds to run the plate on the car before approaching. Couple of morons who deserve to be off the force.
BTW, how is it that Snoopy always claims he knows how to drive yet he doesn't know the difference between standing and parking? FYI, it is not illegal for a car to stand next to a fire hydrant during daylight hours, so the two cops had no probable cause.
"They saw his gun through the window" !!? That's such a blatant lie that's its laughable.
Its more like "we saw a black man idling on the corner in an SUV we thought he obviously couldn't afford unless he was selling crack while collecting welfare for all his baby mommas"!!!
Spiritof76, wow you are one smarty pants, you are right, it is not illegal to stand at a fire hydrant during the day....HOWEVER, it is illegal to have tinted windows, and thus that provided the PROBABLY CAUSE to approach the car.
Typical black guy attitude, "don't you know who I am."
If they knew it was an NYPD vehicle, why'd they toss this guy?
This is what you get for hiring guys at 25K a year.
So if it's so illegal, why did they do it on a department-issue SUV? Or do you think he personally paid for it to be done on a car he doesn't own? BTW, it is not illegal to have tinted windows. I don't know where you're getting your information. It's only illegal to have really dark tinted windows.
Typical racist attitude, "Typical black guy attitude." You don't even know if he even said that or if the two cops just claimed that to try to save their asses. You just assume it's true because he's black. Why don't you read the article? A police source was quoted as saying, "How you can not know or recognize a chief in a department SUV with ID around his neck, I don't know."
@[9]
its hard to take you legal correction seriously when you say things like "PROBABLY CAUSE."
thats probably because you don't have a clue what you are talking about.
Wasn't there a crew of guys just arrested for impersonating police officers and stealing money and drugs from dealers?
If this guys wasn't a typical uppity prick, he probably wouldn't have been hassled. Cops have every right to fully figure out a situation. He should respect protocol, it's the only thing that keeps everyone, including you and I, treated fairly but allows them to do their job.
I don't think he even brought race into it. I think he just expects that his rank keeps him above this stuff. It's the news and just about everyone else doing that. ...Thanks for the favors guys. It's like we love turning the clock back over and over again.
@Spiritof76
Tints are not illegal, but anything darker than 70% is and 70% is barely darker than no tints.
He looked suspicious so they should had pulled their guns and shot him. Why was he there out of uniform? Was he trying to get back into the hood's cred schedule? I think he was there for illegal purposes and the cops had legal rights to open fire on him. Of course they didn't recognize him, he didn't have his stars and stripes uniform on.
I think Michael Granahan has issues dealing with his black girlfriend's loose cootch. He probably realized black guys have been in there before him, and their larger sized penises stretched her out.
He has trouble maintaining his erection - and when he does, his girlfriend barely feels anything. She comforts his bruised ego by saying "don't worry sugah, I still loves ya"
So Michael Granahan walks the streets, wondering which black has been in his girlfrend before him.
He sees a black in a SUV, remembers the broken down 1998 used Honda Civic he drives, and feels anger. So Michael Granahan decides to confront the black, not realizing it's an NYPD police chief. So Michael Granahan gets suspended.
PWND!!!!!!
[14] I know all about the 70% transmission figure. The question is why you bring it up in the first place. Look, it's a department-issue SUV. Surely any idiot flatfoot can figure out that an SUV with tinted windows just might be NYPD. Especially if the driver has a badge around his neck. You don't insult the guy and you don't reach for the badge. If you think it's a fake, you respectfully ask to inspect it more closely. Granahan got what he deserved, no matter what Zeigler did. Remember what's on the side of every cruiser: "Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect." Granahan displayed none of the above.