The NYPD has made some outrageous claims throughout the federal stop-and-frisk trial, but perhaps none more ridiculous than this: that any claims of racial profiling involving the practice are completely fabricated. Never mind the audio evidence, never mind the stats, never mind the personal testimony–it’s all fiction, according to department leadership.
Department chief Joseph J. Esposito said that he has never “had anyone come and tell me, ‘I was stopped because I was a person of color.'” One lieutenant denied the relevance of a potential accusation of profiling because “the demeanor of the person being stopped is angry.”
“I don’t know why he was angry,” he added.
I have a feeling he was angry because he was being racially profiled, Lieutenant Telford. Just a hunch.
(Photo: Ed Yourdon/Flickr)
