the epidemic of police brutality that has touched communities across New York City.
That is a highly inflammatory accusation that should not be made without credible editorial and peer reviewed analysis.
Individual instances of police deadly force resulting in tragic unnecessary death may be the result of any combination of incompetence, poor training and tactics, bad leadership and accidental or wreck-less disregard for proper procedure. In these cases justice is best served by the awarding of significant damages and the suspension or termination of the careers of the officiers involved.
Alleging racism or criminal malicious intent should never be done lightly. Use of the word "epidemic" in this instance should never happen unless it is accompanied with hard statistical evidence that has met the highest level of scrutiny.
If Max Blumenthal can point to a better more throughly researched studies of the use of deadly force by the NYPD than these by Heather McDonald of City-Journal than he owes it to his readership to do so.
http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon2007-04-02hm.html
http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon2006-12-04hm.html
50 Shots: A Video Report From the Sean Bell Demonstrations
On April 25, the three NYPD detectives who killed bridegroom Sean Bell the night before his wedding and wounded his two friends were acquitted of all charges. The undercover officers, who had riddled Bell's car with 50 shots, claimed in court that they were scared by Bell and his friends, even though the men were unarmed and on their way home from a club. Detective Michael Oliver must have been especially frightened. He alone fired 31 shots, even stopping to reload on his way to killing Bell. Arthur Cooperman, a 78-year-old judge scheduled to retire next year (the cops were spared a jury of their peers), essentially ruled that the officers' supposed fear justified their indiscriminate firing of 50 shots at Bell and his unarmed friends.
The crowd that gathered outside the courtroom was stunned when the verdict was announced. Hours later, in the streets of Jamaica, Queens, where Sean Bell lived and died, marchers gathered almost spontaneously to vent their rage against the verdict and the epidemic of police brutality that has touched communities across New York City. As night descended, and the march detoured first to the site of Bell's killing, then to a housing project in South Jamaica, Queens, the crowd grew in size and in the intensity of its anger. Calls for violent retaliation against the police nearly became reality, as marchers surrounded vans filled with NYPD officers, forcing the police to withdraw from the streets and rely on aerial surveillance instead.
I attended the march with a cameraman by my side, and stayed until the end, well after the media had left, to report on the frustration that animated the march, and capture the drama that unfolded. Though the city has remained peaceful in the wake of last weekend's demonstrations, my video suggests that the heightened tension between residents of inner-city communities and cops may cross a dangerous threshold unless justice is done. With bold visual evidence, my coverage clearly contradicts the New York Times' careless contention that "the acquittals in the Bell case have so far been largely met with a muted response. Thousands of protesters did not fill the streets, no unrest ensued."
In my video, I also probed the Sean Bell verdict's impact on the presidential campaign. As my friend Roberto Lovato wrote last week, Barack Obama's "Failure to use his rhetorical gifts to speak forcefully to and about real black and non-black anger about the Sean Bell verdict may re-animate doubts about commitment to that part of his base that is not white middle- and working-class."
Sure enough, after Obama responded to an African-American reporter's question about the verdict with a boilerplate call for "com[ing] together," and stressed the need to respect Cooperman's decision, he received an angry phone call from Al Sharpton. Sharpton, who has pressed for a federal investigation into Bell's killing, reportedly accused Obama of seeking to "grandstand in front of white people." Though Sharpton has since denied attacking Obama, their alleged tiff highlights the quandary Obama faces as he looks to cultivate support among blue collar white voters while maintain his credibility in the black community.
I was proud to feature new music in my video by my friends for over a decade, the legendary live hip-hop band, Dujeous. Their song, "Eyewitness," which was inspired by Sean Bell's killing, features one of hip-hop's most incisive political rappers, Immortal Technique. Check it out.
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The black community's relationship with the police has to change. I know it's a two way street, but it doesn't help to have Al Sharpton and people like him front and center on an issue. .
Relationship , what on gods earth are you talking about. Every one of the people who the police murdered happened to have been innocent with no weapons or drugs found on them. From Eleanor Bumpers the grandmother who police murdered while evicting her, to Amadou Diallo who was murdered when a cop tripped and his gun went off and his idiot partners believe that Mr, Diallo wallet was a gun, to Patrick Dorsmond who was murdered when asked by a undercover cop where he could buy drugs from and when rebuffed it lead to a fight causing Mr. Dorsmond's death , to Sean Bell who murdered leaving a bacholor party, these are only a few incidents.You have the gall to say the Black community needs to have better relationship with the police who murder us and are acquitted. Al Sharpton is necessary, who else is bringing this into the public eye. Al Sharpton make people face some truths that they rather not . Can you tell me what are we suppose to do.Blacks do not support criminals or the criminal element, what other group of people would be so peaceful after scores of their own innocent relatives, friends and neighors are murdered by the police time and time again and no justice is received
Why do you seem more upset about death at the hand of police ( I don't call it murder) than you do over death of blacks by other blacks? The latter represents the vast majority of violent death among blacks.
Read what I wrote again. The relationship has to change. Why can a drug dealer flourish in the neighborhood, poisoning the citizens and the kids and not be reported? Snitching isn't "acting white", it's survival.
Blaming the cops is the easy way. Look in the collective mirror and ask who gains the most by the current situation. Sharpton and his ilk are wearing $1000 suits while telling us their lies. Don't believe them.
police ( I don't call it murder) than you do over death of blacks by other blacks?
I don't pay other Blacks to protect me with my taxes. as I do the police. You're attempting to avoid the issue are you a politcian, either way its not going to work. Black on Black crime has nothing to do with police murdering innocent citizens. Of course you won't call it murder it wasn't anyone who look as you whose being murder and your taxes are paying their salaries.The police do not respect the lives of American Blacks. People like you will always justify the police murdering people who look different than you.You live in a state of denial, I hope you won't have to experience the pain the Bell family is feeling to understand that their is problem with the police killing innocent people.I'm not a Sharpton defender but he has nothing to do with this, again you're deflecting.
In the illegal immigrant brouhaha, it is Black people, especially Black Men who have become the Invisible Man of the 21st century. There is a genocide going on that Black people have lived with for years, been afraid to talk openly about, and see minimized by the press when someone like Rev. Wright does speak of it. If there were ever a more compelling reason for taking care of our own people, American born, who have given us so much, and dedicating our resources to equality and justice, then this is it!
I live in NYC , this is far from the first incident of the police murdering innocent Black citizens and being acquitted.We have never rioted and it appears that no one will be held accountable once again,nor will we riot.The MSM has ignored this patteren of NYPD murdering innocent Blacks.Hopefully the Feds will step in charging and convicting those murderers. Police Officer Marc Cooper apologized to the Bell family, his picture was across the tabloids, the man looks pained and contrite he realizes that he or one his loved could 've been Sean Bell.. The other two have not apologized they're from different cultures and have no respect for Black people in general. They feel they did nothing wrong.Last Thursday Nicole Bell was on a local station and mentioned she did hear from Hillary Clinton, I guess Hillary called after being advised to do so by her supporter Congressman Charlie Rangel.As a US Senator representing New York State, Hillary has done nothing to address the killing of innocent Blacks by the police in the past.If this was any other group that was being murdered by the police they'd be more outrage.I guess the words of Rev Wright are more important to Americans than the lives of innocent Black citizens.
I'm sorry Mr Bell is dead. Having said that (and meaning it) I have to comment that it is not very smart to make people with guns nervous. Especially when those people are police.
The black community's relationship with the police has to change. I know it's a two way street, but it doesn't help to have Al Sharpton and people like him front and center on an issue. Also, the fact that 2 of the 3 cops are black and the other a latino says racism wasn't an ingredient here.
What many people miss is that police deal every day with the dregs of society. Their image of society changes with experience. The rookie who wants to help mankind is too soon the 10 year veteran who only wants to survive until retirement.
I don't have an answer, but I know the blame shouldn't all rest with the police. Some but not all.
"The black community's relationship with the police has to change."
Change how? Frankly, the only way for the relationship to change would be for the complaints and lives of black people to be taken seriously, or for black people to change color. Changing color's probably more doable.
Max, you're back! I always look forward to your videossiers. My take on the subject is similar to Rev. Wright's: beginning Jan. 21, 2009, I will start "collecting" from President Obama payback for his call for "change we can believe in." I will hound him to stop appeasing the white folk and start living like a black man in the oval office who is not afraid to deal head-on with the always-volatile cop-community love-hate relationship.
Meanwhile, imagine for a moment I'm your city editor; I have an assignment for you. Please put to work your exceptional investigative skills and publish video/audio clips of the White House discussions on torture by the Big 5 (or 6?). Or how about an etrail of the missing WH emails, i.e., who trashed them and why/when/how? And oh, btw, they're electronic trash -- they really can't be totally "obliterated!" So where are they now? Most importantly, WHAT do they say?
Just a thought. I know you have a lot more exciting/explosive ones on your plate. In general, and through your Max Blumenthal video lens, I do appreciate your advocacy to keep tearing down the political hypocrisy wall.
Police brutality has been a problem in the NYPD since it's inception. I don't know many of the facts regarding the case, nor do most people, but the one fact I do know, makes this even more disturbing. Those cops should have been tried by a jury of their peers. If they couldn't get a fair trial in Queens, then they should have had a change of venue, and I'm not talking about somewhere like Westchester county. I don't care what the state-law in New York says, this wasn't a fair trial.
But yelling Fuck the police doesn't help this situation. Calling them pigs doesn't help this situation. Shouting that you're going to kill 10 of them for every one of you that's killed doesn't help the situation. Police work is hard. The starting salary for an officer of the NYPD is below $30,000 a year! They are severely underpaid, and they are constantly dealing with things on a day to day basis, that would give anyone nightmares and could turn just about anyone into a bitter, trigger-happy racist.
Continuing my point from above. Stupid Word limit...
On one hand I'm disappointed in Obama for his answer to the question. Yes, this is a lightning rod issue, that could only serve to fuel the Rev. Wright fire, but surely he knew he was going to eventually have to field this question. His answer, indeed sounded coached, but why not use this opportunity to reaffirm his message, that fighting anger and hatred with more anger and hatred, doesn't get you anywhere except more angry and more hated.
But the man in the video is right. The person who should be most ashamed in all of this is the Senator FROM NY, Hillary Clinton. Who as far as I know has been silent on this. This was an opportunity for her to heal her relationship with the black community, and she blew it. As a white politician of power in New York politics, she could have been a very credible voice of criticism for this policies of the NYPD and instead she chose to sit this out.
I will draw an analogy here...after 9/11, the NYPD..well...they WERE heros...to everyone...yet..just as the USA squandered international good will after the terrorist attack...so has the NYPD...
squandered the faith the citizens of New York felt toward them 7+ years ago.
50 bullets...I cannot wrap my pea brain around that kind of fire power...on one van...carrying unarmed men. Sounds to me..like the officer was in some kind of insane trance...had to kill... I hope the judge's decision does NOT preclude a civil suit. And..where is Michael Bloomberg in all this? huh?
What's needed is a FBPI. That's, Federal Bureau of Police Investigation.
Anytime a police officer is accused of a crime it needs to become a federal case.
Local prosecutors and judges can't be objective when dealing with, what amount to, members of their own family.
We need dedicated investigators and dedicated prosecutors who have their first loyalty to enforcing the laws and upholding the US Constitution, when it comes to investigating and prosecuting cops (especially if the victims are poor and/or minorities) the locals can't/won't do the job.
In addition, the sentencing guidelines need to be adjusted so that anytime a cop is found guilty of a criminal offense in the performance of his duty; the sentence is DOUBLED!
We need to hold our law enforcement personnel to a higher standard of behavior; not a lower one. We need a zero tolerance policy for those who are sworn to uphold our laws and our rights and who then violate both!
Why would any law abiding cop object to such a polcy as described above?
In fact, let's include all the members of the executive and legislative and judicial branches of our local, state and federal governments who take oaths to uphold the laws and Constitution in the category of those subject to the attentions of the "FBPI"??!!!???
The folks who make and enforce our laws are often treated as being above the law; when in truth, they should be held even *more* accountable than ordinary citizens!!!
Did Hillary or Bush or McCain comment. Or is it only the black man that must speak for the black race. We are still the United States Of America, last time I checked.
Max, this is an excellent description of a tragic and deplorable act of violence on an innocent, unarmed African American man. Unfortunately, these tragedies have taken place far to often over the years within the African Amercan community and it is imperative that we re-install our DOJ civil rights division, which has been sorely gutted over the past 8 years.
Additionally, one could say this, and many stories like this, have caused so much pain and anger within our African American community and, coincedently, can be eye opening in understanding the anger and pain that Rev. Wright exposed and tried to explain with his actions and words over this past month. Regarding Senator Obama, he is in a very difficult position, as a candidate for the Presidency because he honestly does not have the power to enact substantative change in this situation and that is why he is running for President. When he becomes President there will be major changes within our civil rights justice system and there will be great changes made that will bring back our Constitution that demands equality for all.
Always enjoy your posts Max, you obviously inherited your gift of creative writing from you dad and I wish you well during this very trying time for your family.
This was such a horrible tragedy. At worst, those officers fired with prejudice at unarmed men, and at best, they panicked. How is either option acceptable? It takes quite a while to fire 50 shots. You'd think at some point earlier on, they would've stopped to assess the situation, to find out that no had a gun. Sean Bell died, essentially, for smarting off to a police officer. How many of us may have been guilty of that? Do any of us deserve to die? People say a lot of stupid things when confronted by police. You'd think these officers would have been better trained to know that just because someone spouts off about having a gun, it doesn't mean they DO. No one saw a gun. No shot should have been fired, much less 50. I grieve for this man's loved ones, and I fear for anyone who has to deal with those officers who got off scott free for murder.
this was an undercover investigation.the police inside the club were supposed to contact uniformed officers outside to detain suspects.instead they went out themselves and blew their cover.they retrieved guns and vests but no other visible means of identification.they used a rental car(with plates that identified it as such)not a police car to block the suspects' vehicle.after the shooting the officers claimed the(fourth)gunmen ran off even though they never radioed this fact to other police officers or attempted a pursuit.these officers were trained to avoid contagious gunfire(that's where you keep shooting even though the intended target isn't shooting back)which leads me to believe this wasn't an accident.was there a confrontation inside the club?did the officers decide to settle it outside?this kind of stuff is common in LA and has now infected NYC.I'm not surprised the judge did what he did.they're all like Judge Judy down there.
I guess officer Michael Oliver would be completely useless if a riot ever were to break out. Let's see, if it takes 31 shots for him to feel that a potential threat is put down . . .
. . . . averrage crowd of rioters about 300 or so . . .
. . . multiply this with this . . .
. . . three plus zero . . .
. . . bring down the nine . . .
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH! at a grand product of 9,300 bullets, it would take the entire stockroom of a small gun shop for him to feel properly equipped to handle a riot. JUST FOR HIMSELF, MIND YOU.
Another great video Max. Stay safe. I'm still behind Obama because he's way better than Clinton or McInsane.
A powerful piece Max.
Suzanne
I am one of those old white women...who don't know anything about the music you are speaking about. But..having said that...I can see the anger and disgust that is being displayed here. I totally agree with it all. These people were trained police officers. They should know when and how to fire their weapons. That is what training is for. NO ONE needs to fire 31 shots into one car. Totally assinine. And Illegal. They should face charges. As for Obama...this old woman is also an O-Boomer...he is caught between a rock and a hard place. He cannot come out like Sharpton, he has to be calm and logical. He has to get the votes of those white racists...I know, really hard. But, he has to try. Give him a chance...he is the best hope of this country, if we have to exist with Hillary, or God forbid, Mcbush, this country is toast.
And Max...you are a great reporter. I am always up for a post of yours!!!
I second that.
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Posted May 2, 2008 | 09:21 PM (EST)