My latest cop watch. Ironically I found myself and my work being validated by the cop in charge. Then it was back to business as usual...marijuana arrest... - Joseph Jazz Hayden

This is a video of a typical marijuana arrest conducted by members or the NYPD. Even though possesing under 25 grams of marijuana has been decriminalized in New York State since the 1970's the NYPD continues to make every effort to criminalize people of color for those offenses. This is based on a loophole in that law that states that if that same amount of marijuana is in, "plain site" it becomes an arrestable misdemeanor offense rather than a violation.

Video

Here is a report from the NYCLU on the racial disparities in marijuana arrests in the stat of New York.

NYCLU Analysis Exposes Stark Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests in Counties Across New York State

June 6, 2013 —  There are stark racial disparities in low-level marijuana arrests in counties across New York State, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union analysis released today of federal crime reporting data from 2010.

The greatest racial disparities occur in Kings County (Brooklyn) and New York County (Manhattan), where black New Yorkers are more than 9 times more likely than whites to be arrested for possessing marijuana. But the problem is not limited to New York City. Enormous racial disparities exist in counties throughout the state, including several of the state’s most populous counties, such as Onondaga (7.75 times more likely), Niagara (7.56 times more likely), Monroe (6.5 times more likely) and Erie (5.66 times more likely).

“In all corners of New York State, police are targeting people of color for marijuana possession arrests,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “Arresting and jailing thousands of people for possessing small amounts of marijuana does not make safer streets. It only needlessly disrupts people’s lives and fosters distrust between the police and the communities they are sworn to serve.”

Statewide, black people are 4.5 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession. They are at least twice as likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana in 52 of the state’s 62 counties. Nationally, blacks are more than 3.7 times as likely as whites to be subjected to marijuana arrests.

There were consistently large racial disparities in marijuana arrests in New York State between 2001 and 2010. While arrest rates of whites increased slightly, black people shouldered a great portion of the increases in marijuana arrests, with the black arrest rate increasing 26 percent over that time span.

These gaping racial disparities in marijuana arrests exist even though government surveys show that whites use marijuana at higher rates than blacks do.

An American Civil Liberties Union report released this week on marijuana arrests nationwide showed New York leads the nation in marijuana arrests. In 2010, there were 103,698 marijuana-possession arrests in New York State – more than 29,000 more arrests than the state with the second-highest total, Texas with 74,286 arrests. New York’s marijuana arrest rate of 535 arrests per 100,000 people was double the national average and was the highest arrest rate of any state.

“New Yorkers should be embarrassed that our state leads the nation in marijuana arrests,” Lieberman said. “The crackdown on low-level marijuana possession needlessly hurts individuals and families – subjecting them to all sorts of collateral consequences like the loss of student financial aid and job opportunities. Governor Cuomo has pledged to clarify the state’s marijuana laws to bring justice and common sense to drug enforcement in our state. We urge him to keep that promise.”

New York City is the nation’s marijuana arrest capital. Arrests for marijuana possession in the city skyrocketed from only 774 in 1991 – for the lowest misdemeanor offense – to 50,383 in 2010 – an increase of 6,409 percent. The explosion in marijuana arrests happened despite the fact that New York State made marijuana possession a violation in 1977, like speeding or ignoring a stop light.

The number of marijuana-possession arrests in the state annually was consistently high between 2001 and 2010 and increased over the final three years of that time span.

Arresting people for possessing small amounts of marijuana does not reduce serious or violent crime. According to a study by two University of Chicago professors, these arrests only pull police off the streets and divert them into nonessential police work. According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and Health, the rise in marijuana arrests has not corresponded with a reduction in the use of marijuana in New York State.

Marijuana possession arrests drive thousands of young men of color into the criminal justice system. It does so at significant taxpayer expense. In 2010, marijuana arrests cost state taxpayers $678.5 million in police and court costs.

“At a time when county governments across New York are cutting services to close huge budget deficits, police should not be wasting scarce resources arresting people for small amounts of marijuana,” Lieberman said.

Marijuana arrests needlessly harm individuals and families. They can affect eligibility for public housing and student financial aid, employment opportunities, child custody determinations and immigration status. Marijuana convictions can also subject people to more severe charges and sentences if they are ever arrested for or convicted of another crime. In addition, the targeted enforcement of marijuana laws against people of color sows mistrust between communities and the police, weakening public safety.

Mayor Elect Bill Deblasio contradicts his campaign promises of changing the status quo in the NYPD and "ending an era of stop and frisk" by naming Bill Bratton as Police Commissioner.  Bratton is one of the lead instigators of formalized racist policing practices such as stop and frisk in the modern era.  He previously served as NYPD Commisioner from 1994 to 1996 under Mayor Rudy Giuliani and began using the NYPD to aggressively attack communities of color throughout the city.  Since then he has spread these tactics around the country and worlwide.  Here in the U.S. Bratton increased the practice of stop and frisk while serving as Police Commisioner in Los Angeles.  He was also sent to London to "deal with" communities of color following the riots there a few years ago.  Bratton has lead and conitinues to lead multiple global security organizations.

Bill Bratton's Wikipedia Page will show you all you need to know to connect the dots to the global police state.  Here is an excerpt from it.

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Business

Bratton Technologies, Inc.

Today, Bratton is the CEO of Bratton Technologies (www.brattontech.com), a venture backed company that operates BlueLine, the first secure, global law enforcement professional network. BlueLine is a platform where officers can find each other, share their expertise, insight and information safely through video, instant messaging, videoconferencing and screen share capabilities. ^[23]

Altegrity

On August 5, 2009, Bratton announced that after nearly seven years he would be stepping down as chief of police for the City of Los Angeles, and he continued to serve as chief until October 31, 2009.^[24] Bratton moved back to New York City to take a position with private international security firm Altegrity Risk International, serving as a Chairman of a new division where he would consult on security for police departments worldwide.^[25]

Kroll

Bratton became the Chairman of Kroll, a corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in New York on September 16, 2010. In November 9 2012, Bratton stepped down as Chairman and was retained by Kroll as a Senior Advisor. Bratton will continue to work with public entities and private organizations facing complex security or investigatory challenges. Kroll is one of Altegrity, Inc.’s three core businesses.^[26]

NBC

As of June 27, 2013, Bill Bratton has joined NBC News and MSNBC as an analyst specializing in criminal justice policy and practice, domestic intelligence gathering and the role of local law enforcement in counter-terrorism. His analysis will appear across the various platforms of NBC News and MSNBC and their digital properties.

The Bratton Group

As Chief Executive Officer of the Bratton Group LLC, Bratton provides a wide range of collaborative consulting, leadership, management and public safety network services to both the public and private sector in the U.S. and abroad.

Crest Advisory

Bratton joined Crest Advisory on 5th November 2012.^[27]

Crest Advisory ^[28] provides expert advice to prospective police and crime commissioners (PCCs), criminal justice agencies and the security sector. Crest’s team offer a powerful fusion of policy expertise, political insight, delivery experience and communications support to help communities prevent crime, fear and disorder.

Homeland Security Advisory Council

Bratton is the Vice Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, whose members provide advice and recommendations on a variety of homeland security issues to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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What's next in store for the public with the continuation of the status quo of the NYPD and global policing? Here is a video we shot of Dhoruba Al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad from a few years ago warning us of the police state, Bratton and what we need to do.  He focused on the decentralization of the police department.  Take a look.

Video

Did you know that New York City students are being criminalized for being late to school?  This process takes place when the NYPD sets up checkpoints at subway exits that are in close proximity to public schools.  They stop the students and ask them a series of personal questions and record that information.  This video took place in Harlem, NY at the 135th street station. 

Below are a few questions we had and posed in the video.  Let us know what your thoughts and feelings are on this NYPD practice.  Share your thoughts in the comments section or twitter #schooltoprisonpipeline.

Why are cops stopping students on their way to school when in all public schools there is an officer at the front desk?

This stop took about 10 minutes. Doesn't this practice make students later for school?

Could these stops deter students  from attending on days that they are running late?

What is being done with the information collected by the NYPD?

How do parents feel about their children being stopped and questioned without their consent?

Are these students commuting by train because there isn't a good school in their neighborhood?

One of the most disturbing parts of this video is that the students appear unfazed. These police abuses have become Normalized. But this is not normal!

If young suburban students were stopped by police on their way to school you would likely see fear and tears in their eyes. Followed up by outrage from parents and the school board.

NY1 - A Bronx judge has thrown out the indictment on manslaughter charges filed against the officer accused in the shooting death of Ramarley Graham, saying the grand jury was accidentally misled by the district attorney's office. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.

Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham, couldn't hide her feelings when Judge Stephen Barrett threw out the manslaughter indictment against police officer Richard Haste.

"You killed my God damn child, you son of a bitch," Malcolm yelled in the courtroom.

Haste shot and killed the unarmed teen last year. He said he thought Graham had a gun.

Judge Barrett said Bronx prosecutors made a major mistake in the grand jury process.

"I believe that inadvertently, the district attorney's instructions did mislead the jury," the judge said.

Officer Haste has said he chased Graham into the teen's home because other officers put over the police radio that the teen had a gun. Haste shot and killed Graham in the bathroom, but no gun was found.

Judge Barrett ruled that the grand jury should have been able to consider what other officers reported.

"In effect, the grand jury was told, by both commission and omission, that the communications of other officers to officer Haste were not relevant," Judge Barrett said. "That's my conclusion in reading this instruction, and that is error."

Outside court, supporters of Graham's family were outraged.

"We will continue to fight wherever this fight leads," said Franclot Graham, Ramarley Graham's father. "If we have to go to the Justice Department, then that's where we'll go."

"The people of Bronx County and the citizens of America will not go away, will not cease and desist against police violence, excessive force, against, obviously, murder," said Attorney Royce Russell.

Inside the courtroom, Haste didn't say a word, but his union said the judge made the right decision.

"No police officer ever wants to draw their weapon and be in this situation, so it's a difficult time for everyone," said Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

Everyone involved in the case knows it's likely to continue. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office will decide if it will appeal the judge's ruling or present the case to another grand jury.

Following the decision, the Rev. Al Sharpton released a statement, saying, "This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice and an insult to the family and supporters of Ramarley Graham. We demand that a new grand jury is convened immediately and that the case is re-presented."

Story from NY1.Com

Video

All Things Harlem received this video last night of an apparent arrest in Crown Heights Brooklyn. If you pay close attention to the 00.17 second mark you will notice the officers on top of the man punch him the back of the headhttp://www.allthingsharlem.com/.

Here is the description from the person who filmed the arrest.

This is a video taken from an apartment window that shows the tail end of some serious police brutality. The beating takes place in an alleyway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, between Union St. and President St, near Albany Ave. The incident occurred at about 1pm on 12/19/12. If you have any information about the person in this video, or are the person who was beaten and want to make some sort of civil claim contact or youtube channel 801angelicupstart. 

Or you can contact us directly at info@allthingsharlem.com

           Shaka Shakur - community activist and member of, The People's Survival Program, speaks to the crowd of supporters and the NYPD outside of the 32nd precinct in Harlem.  He emphasizes the importance of using a the video camera as a weapon against police abuse in our community.               

We have gotten to know "Nycresistance" from his work videoing police incidents in our communities over the past few years.  If you haven't had the chance to view any of his work you need to take a look.  He is a true fighter for justice and truth and All Things Harlem commends him to the utmost.  His work further reveals the depth of the misconduct, harassment and human rights abuses of the NYPD carries out in communities of color.

Make sure to check his great videos on his youtube channel or his blog.

View more select videos here.

Alexis Sumpter 15-years-old (PHOTO from NY DAILY NEWS)

An over-aggressive NYPD strikes again, this time harrassing and handcuffing Alexis Sumpter a 15-year-old Harlem girl.  The NYPD assumed that Sumpter was too old to be using the student metrocard she used to enter the subway.  Alexis explained to the officers that she was only 15 but since she didn't have her ID on her the officers roughly brought her upstairs and handcuffed her.  After the brutality things were cleared up and Alexis was not arrested or given a summons. 

Video of Alexis describing the incident.

www.Ramarleyscall.org

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NYPD Officer Richard Haste murdered Ramarley in his own home on February 2, 2012. Haste has now been indicted by the Bronx Criminal Court.

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