De Blasio's slams at Ray Kelly hurts NYC

De Blasio's slams at Ray Kelly hurts NYC

This isn’t just a political season when Bill de Blasio runs against Mike Bloomberg before he even gets around to Joe Lhota. It is also a season when de Blasio bangs away with body punches at Ray Kelly, and the methods Kelly has used to keep the city safe not just in a 9/11 world, but a city and country of guns. Bill de Blasio is a good, smart, likable guy, may end up mayor, even though there is the cockeyed notion sometimes that he has been elected already. But he continues to insult Kelly’s service, and the job Kelly has done as police commissioner, and Lhota seems to be the only one calling him on it.

De Blasio's slams at Ray Kelly hurts NYC
Mike Lupica
Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:11:50 GMT

Thompson's stop-and-frik woes

Thompson's stop-and-frik woes

Even as he won the endorsement of two prominent black leaders, William Thompson’s moderate stance on stop-and-frisk policing caused him a new political headache in the black community.

Thompson's stop-and-frik woes
ERIN DURKIN
Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:51:04 GMT

NYPD Makes Its Stop-And-Frisk Training Video Public

NYPD Makes Its Stop-And-Frisk Training Video Public

Monday marks the start of the seventh week in the federal trial against the New York City Police Department and its stop-and-frisk tactics. NY1's Criminal Justice reporter Dean Meminger takes a detailed look at a video shown in court to train officers on the controversial practice. | View the entire NYPD training video.

NYPD Makes Its Stop-And-Frisk Training Video Public
Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:26:58 GMT

NYPD Orders Cops Not to Be Racist on Social Media

NYPD Orders Cops Not to Be Racist on Social Media

After two FDNY EMTs, including the commissioner's son, were revealed to be horribly bigoted on their public Twitter accounts, the NYPD is sitting its own people down for a little lesson. The police department has issued its first social-media standards guide, the Daily News reports, reminding officers, "Members of the service should be aware that activities on personal social media sites may be used against them to undermine their credibility as members of the department." It's a little late.

From the gory message-board postings of the Cannibal Cop to the racist Facebook groups about the West Indian American Day parade, police officers have already had their share of embarrassments out in the not-so-new frontiers of social media. Recently, a captain used a Twitter account for his precinct to identify and warn of released convicts, but the new rules ban the creation of profiles for any specific precincts or units.

Individual cops are told "not to disclose or allude to their status as members of the department" and not to post pictures in uniform unless they're at specific events. But there are work-arounds for those who want to risk it, or just have to vent their off-color frustrations online: "Cops need to change their names on their Facebook and twitter accounts and use nicknames," said an anonymous poster on one public NYPD forum, calling the rules a violation of the officers' civil rights. "IAB will be using searches with their names," the person added. "Lol."

Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli

Filed Under: the internet ,nypd ,facebook ,twitter ,technology

NYPD Orders Cops Not to Be Racist on Social Media
Joe Coscarelli
Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:59:44 GMT

National Action Network Debate Crowd Pans Chris Quinn Praise For Ray Kelly

National Action Network Debate Crowd Pans Chris Quinn Praise For Ray Kelly

ICYMI: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn provoked hisses and harrumphs at a mayoral debate in Harlem when she signaled she would retain Ray Kelly as NYPD commissioner. Our Moore and Beekman report: “Anybody who is mayor would be lucky if Kelly stayed,” she said — prompting the Tuesday ...

National Action Network Debate Crowd Pans Chris Quinn Praise For Ray Kelly
The Daily Politics
Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:52:59 GMT

Ex-City Official Suing NYPD Over West Indian Day Parade Run-In

Ex-City Official Suing NYPD Over West Indian Day Parade Run-In

Kirsten John Foy, then the head of public affairs for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, was tossed around and handcuffed last September at the West Indian Day Parade along with City Councilman Jumaane D. Williams for walking in a "frozen zone" despite being given permission by an NYPD commander and identifying themselves as city officials. At the time, the NYPD claimed the force was necessary because an officer was punched in the face amid the scrum, an excuse that was quickly abandoned, leaving Ray Kelly to apologize and three officers to be punished. For Foy, that's not quite enough: Now he's filing a lawsuit.

"When I was tripped, I felt something pop in my knee," Foy told the Daily News. "When I was lifted off the ground, rear-cuffed, something snapped in my shoulder." He had surgery in January to repair a fractured kneecap and torn ligament, and will need another procedure to address his rotator cuff injury.

Williams and Foy, who are both black, used the incident to highlight the abuses of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk procedures. "This isn't just about what happened to me," Foy said of his lawsuit alleging assault. "It happens thousands of times daily to Latino and African-American men who don’t have a high profile like me to stand up and say something about it." He added, "The ultimate bottom line will be a change in policy and a change in police behavior."

Video of the incident shows Foy being grabbed by the neck before having his leg swept. And, for the record, no punching:

Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli

Filed Under: lawsuits ,nypd ,crimes and misdemeanors ,kirsten john foy ,jumaane williams

Ex-City Official Suing NYPD Over West Indian Day Parade Run-In
Joe Coscarelli
Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:45:00 GMT

Mayor: NYCLU Does Not "Do Anything" To End Need For Stop-And-Frisks

Mayor: NYCLU Does Not "Do Anything" To End Need For Stop-And-Frisks

Mayor Michael Bloomberg vigorously defended the city's stop-and-frisk policy during a Sunday visit to a church in St. Albans, Queens, and singled out the New York Civil Liberties Union for not directly getting guns off the streets, but the civil rights group maintains that the policy unfairly targets communities of color.

Mayor: NYCLU Does Not "Do Anything" To End Need For Stop-And-Frisks
Sun, 15 Jul 2012 21:12:40 GMT

NYPD Cop Accused of Stealing Guns From Fellow Officers, Selling Them to Criminals

NYPD Cop Accused of Stealing Guns From Fellow Officers, Selling Them to Criminals

On Thursday night, NYPD officer Nicholas Mina was arrested for allegedly breaking into colleagues' lockers, stealing four 9mm guns, then selling them on the street, according to the New York Post. (He's also accused of making off with their bulletproof vests, cash, and an iPad.) “This is the lowest crime — to steal from your fellow cops. Somebody you work with, you dress with, you change with,” said a retired officer who knows Mina. “To rob a gun that could be used against a fellow cop someday. There’s nothing lower.” Mina has been on the force for six years, and sadly it looks like his career will be cut short when he was just a few murder plots away from stealing the "Most Crooked Cop" title.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under: crimes and misdemeanors ,nypd ,new york's finest ,crooked cops

NYPD Cop Accused of Stealing Guns From Fellow Officers, Selling Them to Criminals
Margaret Hartmann
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:05:00 GMT

NYPD chief criticizes African American leaders

A quiet but very angry group of protestors gathered in front of the headquarters of the New York Police department. About a hundred people, including elected officials, came to send a message to the city’s police commissioner. The day before, New York’s top cop sparked controversy when he criticized African American leaders – suggesting they [...]

NYPD chief criticizes African American leaders
The Admin
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 10:57:29 GMT

NYPD Convenes Possibly Useless Panel on Stop-and-Frisk

NYPD Convenes Possibly Useless Panel on Stop-and-Frisk

The NYPD bristled at a new bill introduced by City Council members earlier this month that would create an inspector general's office to conduct independent reviews of its programs. However, that doesn't mean they're unwilling to hear objections to policies like stop-and-frisk. In fact, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has already started meeting with a new community advisory panel, which will discuss police tactics — but doesn't have the power to do much else.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Kelly held the first of these panel discussions last week, meeting with twelve community leaders and clergy members from across the country. The first session included a presentation on stop-and-frisk and a primer on various crime-related issues in the city. Another meeting is scheduled for next month, and Kelly says he hopes the panel will be a "a valuable way to get information [from the community] back to us."
Those who are on the panel sound slightly less enthused. Per the WSJ:

The Rev. [Herbert] Daughtry said he was first appointed to an advisory panel on police shootings in 1978 by Mayor Edward Koch and has been on a number of such panels since. "We've always been recommending stuff," he said. "I don't know if anything ever gets done. But we've got a pocketful of recommendations."

Presumably this isn't the decisive response those thousands of silent protesters were looking for.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under: stop and frisk ,nypd ,ray kelly ,crimes and misdemeanors

NYPD Convenes Possibly Useless Panel on Stop-and-Frisk
Margaret Hartmann
Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:35:00 GMT

NY1 Exclusive : Bloomberg Criticizes Philly Stop And Frisk Program, Philadelphia Responds In Exclusive Interview

NY1 Exclusive : Bloomberg Criticizes Philly Stop And Frisk Program, Philadelphia Responds In Exclusive Interview

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attacked the New York Times Thursday after an editorial in the paper suggested that New York City's stop and frisk policy should adopt similar reforms to the ones adopted in Philadelphia.

NY1 Exclusive : Bloomberg Criticizes Philly Stop And Frisk Program, Philadelphia Responds In Exclusive Interview
Fri, 25 May 2012 01:07:12 GMT

May 19: Stop-and-frisk, the FDNY and sex abuse

May 19: Stop-and-frisk, the FDNY and sex abuse

Brooklyn: Re NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly’s controversial stop-and-frisk program, I have a simple solution: The police can continue to stop every person of color they want, but they have to stop an equal number of Caucasians as well.

May 19: Stop-and-frisk, the FDNY and sex abuse
Voice of the People
Sat, 19 May 2012 08:00:53 GMT

Stop-and-frisk lawsuit gets class status

Stop-and-frisk lawsuit gets class status

A federal judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit alleging the New York Police Department unlawfully targeted blacks and Hispanics with its stop-and-frisk crime reduction program.

Stop-and-frisk lawsuit gets class status
Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Mayor Dismisses Calls For Stop And Frisk Reform, De Blasio Says He's "In Denial"

Mayor Dismisses Calls For Stop And Frisk Reform, De Blasio Says He's "In Denial"

On the heels of a "damning" report on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policies (conducted using the NYPD's own data), Public Advocate (and presumptive mayoral candidate) Bill de Blasio called on Mayor Bloomberg to issue an Executive Order dramatically reducing the number of unwarranted stops. Among other things, the NYCLU's analysis found that in 2003, the NYPD stopped 266 people for every gun recovered, but in 2011, cops had to stop 879 New Yorkers to recover a single gun. And so de Blasio has launched a citywide petition drive through the new website Bloomberg Act Now, which he hopes will be an online hub for the stop stop-and-frisk movement. The Bloomberg administration hopes people just ignore him, and issued this statement yesterday: [ more › ]

Mayor Dismisses Calls For Stop And Frisk Reform, De Blasio Says He's "In Denial"
John Del Signore
Thu, 10 May 2012 21:58:00 GMT

Stop-frisk ‘terrorizing,’ Prof. West testifies

Stop-frisk ‘terrorizing,’ Prof. West testifies

CIVIL RIGHTS activist and Princeton University Prof. Cornel West took the stand in his own defense Thursday gainst disorderly conduct charges from a Harlem protest against the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” policy. West and 19 others were arrested during a rally on Oct. 21 for blocking the entrance to the 28th Precinct stationhouse.

Stop-frisk ‘terrorizing,’ Prof. West testifies
JANON FISHER
Fri, 04 May 2012 01:42:39 GMT

Bloomberg Refuses Comment On NYPD's May Day Training

Bloomberg Refuses Comment On NYPD's May Day Training

On Friday a tipster sent us an email noting that several hundred NYPD officers had been conducting training exercises on Randall's Island in preparation for May Day's protests. While the sources of other journalists confirmed that information, Mayor Bloomberg declined to go into specifics today when asked about the training by the Voice. "We are prepared for everything we can think of all the time. Our tactics are something that we don't talk about in advance for obvious reasons." Occupy's wide range of scheduled events, both "official" and covert, promise to spread the department's resources from Lower Manhattan to Midtown. [ more › ]

Bloomberg Refuses Comment On NYPD's May Day Training
Christopher Robbins
Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:30:38 GMT