The Staten Island police precinct responsible for the death of Eric Garner consistently employs the highest number of sued police officers across all of New York City. While this remains a problem for the city and Staten Islanders alike, it seemingly comes at a benefit for New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.
David Rankin, a New York City-based criminal defense attorney who litigates federal civil rights cases against the NYPD, joined HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri on Tuesday to explain just how problematic Staten Island's 120th Precinct is.
"Staten Island and the 120 Precinct is one of the way stations for cops that have problems in our city," Rankin said. "The amount of violence that our office has encountered from police in Staten Island for our clients, and the way that underclass in Staten Island is policed is a magnitude different than the rest of the city -- not to say that the rest of the city is in any way appropriate, but what we see out of the 120 is miraculous. It's a step beyond."
Rankin suggested these issues stem from the type of officers the NYPD employs in Precinct 120.
"The PD moves their problem officers there. ...That's where they ship the officers," he added.
Watch the full HuffPost Live debate on police brutality in the NYPD below.
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CORRECTION: This post originally quoted Rankin as saying that Commissioner Bratton "made a living" in the 120th Precinct. Rankin was actually speaking about Brett Klein, a lawyer who has sued police in Staten Island many times. The article has been modified to reflect the error.