Tag: NYPD
Since NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced a pilot program outfitting police officers with body cameras, many were unsatisfied with the demonstration. Gotham Gazette’s Kristen Meriwether tested one of the models in Times Square, on the subway and walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. The VieVu LE3 was provided by the Public Advocate Tish James’ office. For the first video (above), Meriwether had […]
Three activists were detained by police this week outside a party at the Metropolitan Museum celebrating billionaire David H. Koch. The party came after the opening of their new outdoor plaza, a project which Koch donated $65 to help build. The activists, Kyle Depew, Grayson Earle, and Yates McKee, were detained and ticketed for “illegal advertising” after they […]
Some New York teachers were unhappy with the head of United Federations of Teachers union Michael Mulgrew’s “public support of Rev. Al Sharpton’s march on August 23 to call for justice for the death of Garner, 43″ and decided to show their support for the NYPD. In several schools, including IS 72 on Staten Island and PS 220 in Queens, teachers showed […]
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has repeatedly defended the NYPD’s “broken windows” policy, a style of enforcement that disproportionately targets minorities. He claims that it’s the troubled nature of black and Hispanic neighborhoods that cause the concentration of this sort of police activity, not police racism. The Daily News‘ analysis of data shows this isn’t true — minorities are given summonses at much higher numbers, […]
The 66-year-old police commissioner of New York City Bill Bratton testified in front of city council on Monday morning and he did little to assuage the perception that anything within his department is in need of major reform. The session at City Hall was called to address changes needed within Bratton’s department and was in direct response to […]
While the NYPD continues to trumpet its use of “broken windows” policing, actual damaged or missing windows in public housing buildings has increased by 945% between 2005 and 2011, according to a new report from the NYC comptroller’s office. In 2011, the last year for which data was available, New York City Housing Authority buildings were three times as likely to have broken windows, compared to […]
Santiago Hernandez says he was beaten by police in the Bronx, after being arrested during a search. A surveillance video shows the 23-year-old man speaking with two female police officers, who later put him in handcuffs. Afterwards, a half dozen more officers appear to pile on him and beat him while he lies cuffed on the […]
The NYPD’s SkyWatch towers — now mofidied to fit vans with surveillance platforms extending from the roof — have become a ubiquitious fixture in the city, especially in areas where there’s lot of tourists or poor people. Artist Zaq Landsberg is so discomforted by the platforms which were originally designed for border protection that he was inspired to […]
Despite warnings emailed to the United Federation of Teachers on Wednesday, several groups of teachers have decided to wear their pro-NYPD t-shirts on the first week of class anyway. The Department of Education asked the UFT to remind them “that as public employees, one must remain objective at all times” and that “certain tee shirt messages may appear to be supportive, […]
On Thursday, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced details of the NYPD body camera pilot program that will allow officers to record their activity and interactions while on duty. Initially, plans for 50 body cameras were announced, but the New York Times reports that “60 cameras will be deployed in the coming months in five high-crime police precincts, […]
