Apparently, NYPD cops needed to be reminded that there’s a difference between Native Americans and South Asians, as a recent memo from the department clarified that people from India are Asian-American. The mixups happen when cops are filing police reports involving people of Indian descent and accidentally check the box marked “American Indian.”
“Like any large organization we regularly post internal memos reminding employees of the importance of uniformity when preparing official documents,” Deputy Commissioner John McCarthy told the Daily News.
It’s easy to make fun of the cops thickheadedness on this one, but hey, at least they’re trying. Rinku Sen, executive director of the racial justice think tank Applied Research Center, sees the memo as a positive development.
“The memo might give police officers the chance to understand the difference between American Indians and Asian Indians,” she said.
(Photo: Rene Passet/Flickr)
