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.

NY Collective of Activists Against Judicial Injustice 

BRO. SHEP ASSISTING HURRICANE “SANDY” VICTIMS IN RED HOOK HOUSING PROJECTS

>>>SAVE THE DATE!<<< 

★ ★ ★  PACK THE COURT!★ ★ ★  

 Brother Shep’s (Shepard P. McDaniel) 

Court Appearance 

 Thursday, November 15, 2012 – 9:00 AM 

 The Bronx County Hall of Justice 

(The "new" Court House across the street from the shopping mall) 

265 East 161st Street 

Part TAP1 Lower Level 

CASE BACKGROUND

During this past Spring's "Bogus Weapons Case" against Bro. Shaka Shakur; "Original" Black  Panther Party Veteran and longtime community activist Sadiki "Shep" Ojore Olugbala was identified  as a leader, politically targeted and unjustly arrested inside of the Bronx Criminal Court house for his  experienced supervision in the orderly departure of both Bro. Shaka's attorney and his many  supporters from the courtroom. This arrest was made at the same time that several other court  officers were engaged in a heated discussion with Bro. Shaka’s noted activist attorney Michael "Tarif"  Warren in regards his objection of the court officers overall disrespect towards those people who had  come to the trial in support of Bro. Shaka. Unfortunately, despite yet another court victory by the  people The State has decided to still make an example of Bro. Shep in order to have him imprisoned  and; To continue its current city-wide court campaign to "intimidate & curtail" the growing peoples  movement to "Pack The Court House" in support of both organizers and/or the victims of Police  Terror by the NYPD. Finally, in addition to the criminal charges in Bro. Shep's case, is the very real  question of whether or not the people can actually receive a fair and unbiased trial when both the  arresting NYS Court Officers and the presiding NYS Court Judges personally know, socialize and  work with each other on a regular basis. This legal contradiction, as well as the aforementioned City-  Wide Court Campaign to violate our 1st Amendment Constitutional Rights both inside & outside the  courthouse, will be addressed during this trial as well.  

SIGN PETITION

Video

ABC, Chan. 7, “HERE AND NOW” – Sun. Nov. 4, 2012

Sandra Bookman talks with Joseph Jazz Hayden, the founder of AllThingsHarlem.com. The website has been documenting some of the stop-and-frisk policy cases against the NYPD -- including Hayden's own case. They will be joined by Hayden's attorney, Gideon Oliver, and Noel Leader, the co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.

Pack the Court for Jazz Hayden

**THIS THURSDAY**October 11, 8:30am, 100 Centre St - RALLY & PACK THE COURT

Keep Jazz Hayden Free! 

We must stand together and stop the criminal "justice" system, NYPD and DA from putting Jazz behind bars for 14 yeas for his courageous activism against Stop & Frisk, police brutality and the New Jim Crow! Film the Police! No Justice, No Peace! 

Bring a poster and bring friends.  This is an urgent week in the campaign to keep Jazz Free! Despite over 2,000 of us raising our voices, and despite the obviously retaliatory nature of the charges, Jazz is still facing a court date this Thursday, October 11th, that threatens his freedom.  Jazz is a 71-year old grandfather and community activist, unflinchingly devoted to defending the people of Harlem and New York from the racist police humiliation and brutality communities of color experience on a daily basis. The NYPD and the courts are using bogus weapons charges to try to silence his cop watch activities and send a chilling message to the rest of us. Jazz is facing a possible 14 years in prison.   TURN OUT ON OCTOBER 11!! We need to send a strong message to the DA and everyone who enters the courthouse: WE STAND BY JAZZ HAYDEN! 

Sign Jazz’s petition and learn more about his case at www.freejazzhayden.wordpress.com 

Watch Jazz's Video Coverage of Michelle Alexander, Angela Davis, Cornel West, Mumia's call-in, Jazz himself, & more speaking at Riverside Church, Fri., Sept. 14,  http://www.allthingsharlem.com/all-things-harlem/2012/9/17/end-mass-incarceration-event-at-riverside-church.html 

Delivery of over 2,000 petitions and letters telling DA Cyrus Vance to drop the charges against Jazz Hayden.
 

EMERGENCY! Jazz Hayden's Freedom is On the Line

Two Urgent Actions to Keep Jazz Free:

THURSDAY: GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS TO INDICT JAZZ!

Thursday, September 13th, 8:30 am -1 Hogan Place

(near Centre and Worth Streets, around the corner from courthouse at 100 Centre Street; Trains: 4/5/6/N/R to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall; Q to Canal; A/C/J/Z to Chambers)

Join us at the press conference & rally
 
And earlier in the week...

    TUESDAY: CALL-IN DAY TO KEEP JAZZ FREE!

    Tuesday, September11th

    Call Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance's office: Attorney William Darrow, tel. 212-335-9192

    Tell Darrow to Drop the Charges Against Jazz Hayden! We want to keep Jazz Free!

This is an urgent week in the campaign to keep Jazz free! Despite over 2,000 of us raising our voices, and despite the obviously retaliatory nature of the charges, District Attorney Cyrus Vance has re-affirmed he intends to pursue an indictment at the Grand Jury hearing this Thursday.

Jazz is a 71-year old grandfather and community activist, unflinchingly devoted to defending the people of Harlem and New York from the racist police humiliation and brutality communities of color experience on a daily basis. The NYPD and the courts are using bogus weapons charges to try to silence his cop watch activities and send a chilling message to the rest of us. Jazz is facing a possible 14 years in prison.  

TURN OUT ON SEPTEMBER 13!! We need to send a strong message to jurors and the prosecutors as they enter the courthouse: WE STAND BY JAZZ HAYDEN!

CALL THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY ON SEPTEMBER 11!! Take just two minutes on Tuesday to flood their phone lines with one clear message: drop the trumped-up charges against Jazz Hayden! Call Attorney William Darrow at 212-335-9192 and tell him to stop persecuting Jazz for his community service!

Sign Jazz's petition and learn more about his case at www.freejazzhayden.wordpress.com

Coverage on NY1

Jazz Speaks to NY1's Natasha Ghoneim outside Manhattan Criminal Court

Jazz Hayden along with a large group of supporters packed Manhattan Criminal Courthouse inside and out on the morning of July 31, 2012.  They were there demanding that District Attorney Cyrus Vance drop the charges against Jazz Hayden.  The charges against Jazz are seen to be retaliation for his filming and scrutiny of police activities in the Harlem community.  

The Judge set another date for Jazz's case on October 11, 2012 in anticipation of a grand jury indictment.  The grand jury will be convened sometime during September (TBA).  The supporters plan to mobilize around both events of these dates.    

To keep up with Jazz's case or get involved go to
www.freejazzhayden.wordpress.com

also

Sign the petition

David Galarza speaks to the importance of filming police activities in our communities to show the truth in whats going on.  He describes a recent video he shot of an NYPD officer fondling and body slamming a young teenager.  He tells of how the news reported it as a good job by the officer while his video tells a different story.  

While David is speaking you will notice that one of the court officers behind him is filming him and the group of supporters.  Why? And what will they do with this tape we don't know.

Click to read more ...

Support Jazz Hayden!

Support Joseph “Jazz” Hayden as his next court appearance on July 31, 2012 in Part F at 100 Centre Street in Manhattan. We will be gathering outside the courthouse at 8:30 am.

Photograph by Lyric Cabral, The Village Voice

Dear Friends, Allies and Supporters,

As you may already know, I have a pending case in Manhattan Criminal Court resulting from a bogus stop & frisk by the NYPD from December, 2011.  I can unequivocally state that this stop and arrest was in retaliation for my work as a Citizen Reporter aggressively covering police/community relationships in the Harlem community.  (To review my body of work you need only go to my web site, www.allthingsharlem.com/copwatch to view four years of coverage of police community relations in Harlem.)

My work on this issue is well known and has been covered by many news organizations, including The New York Times, the Village Voice, the Amsterdam News, the Economist,  NY1, Channel 7, Democracy Now, Eyewitness News, WPIX Channel 11, Gothamist, The Brooklyn Rail, The Nation, Newsone.com and the National in Abu Dhabi (Middle East).  The Harlem community is well aware of my work, and encourages and supports it.

As you are probably already aware, the racist practice of stop & frisk by the NYPD has gained national attention for its astronomical numbers of unwarranted stops, nearly 700,000 in 2011. Less than 6% of those stopped were charged with any crime or violation of the law.  The disproportionate impact on communities of color, specifically Blacks and Latinos (87%), has led to city-wide protest and condemnation in the local and national media.

For every action there is a reaction.  Because of my coverage of this racist and ineffective practice, I have been targeted for retaliation.  My right as a citizen to cover the police in public places, as they perform their duties (a right recently acknowledged by U.S. Attorney General Holder) has resulted in my being targeted by the 32nd precinct in Harlem.

I am currently facing felony charges – and potentially years in prison -  as a result of an unlawful stop and search of my car last December. In July of 2011, I filmed the same officers who later arrested me performing an unlawful car stop in Harlem. You can view that video here: 

During the video you can hear the officers talking to me and saying that they know who I am and know my background.  At minute 5:05 the officer can be heard saying, “You done selling drugs yet or what? I know your rap sheet.”  Then again around 5:55 the officer can be heard saying, “Go sell some more drugs sir.  We know your background, I know who you are.” The officers let the men in the car go without charges. But they had other plans for me.

In December of 2011, the very same officers stopped my car and conducted an illegal search.  They found a pocket knife and a mini replica baseball bat in the car, and charged me with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a felony punishable with two to seven years on prison. My stop and arrest was unequivocal retaliation for my surveillance of these officers and work in the community.

Today I need your help. Please contact Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance and demand that all charges against Joseph Hayden be dropped and that the NYPD be put on notice that citizens have a right to monitor their “servants” as they perform their duties without retaliation. The significance of these cases of retaliation for covering “our servants” extends beyond my case alone.  These actions by NYPD raise the larger issue of their role in communities of color, the rights of citizens to monitor law enforcement, and the rights/role of new media in covering the news.  What is happening to me has happened to hundreds of thousands of citizens in New York City.  Enough is enough!

Send your letter to:

Cyrus Vance
Manhattan District Attorney
One Hogan Place
New York, NY 10013

You can email him at vancec@dany.nyc.gov. Please cc me on your letter at jhayden512@aol.com.

A sample letter is included below.

If you can make it, please join me at my next court appearance on July 31, 2012 in Part F at 100 Centre Street in Manhattan. We will be gathering outside the courthouse at 8:30 am.

Thanks for your support.

Yours truly,

Joseph Jazz Hayden

Campaign to End the New Jim Crow

www.allthingsharlem.com

SAMPLE LETTER TO CYRUS VANCE

Cyrus Vance Manhattan District Attorney
One Hogan Place
New York, NY 10013

Dear District Attorney Vance,

[PLEASE MAKE INCLUDE YOUR NAME, YOUR JOB OR OTHER IMPORTANT AFFILIATION AND HOW YOU KNOW JAZZ]

I am writing today about an urgent matter, the case of Joseph Hayden. Your office has chosen to seek an indictment against him for two counts of Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree. I believe that his arrest was a retaliatory act on the part of the police against one of their most outspoken critics, a long-time neighborhood cop watch activist and police reform advocate.

There is no doubt that Mr. Hayden has a lengthy criminal record. But he has put his past behind him and become an important community activist. He is a longtime member of The Riverside Church Prison Ministry and a founding member of the Ministry’s  Campaign to End The New Jim Crow, a group dedicated to combatting mass incarceration and building caring communities. And for the past four years, Mr. Hayden has videotaped police officers as they stop and frisk people in Harlem as part of a neighborhood copwatch program and posted these videos on his website, All Things Harlem.

Mr. Hayden was pulled over for a traffic stop in Harlem in December 2011. When the police approached his car, they made it plain that they recognized Mr. Hayden by statements such as “We know you.” The two officers who stopped him in December were the same officers filmed by Mr. Hayden several months earlier (view the video here: http://bit.ly/NjOZTN). After clearly acknowledging that they knew who he was, the officers unlawfully searched his car, finding a penknife and a small commemorative replica baseball bat. These items are the weapons for which he is now facing felony charges punishable by 2 to 7 years in prison.

During your campaign for District Attorney, you sat down with Mr. Hayden for an interview for his website. During that interview, Mr. Hayden asked you what you would do to stop racial bias and harassment of people of color by the NYPD. You told him that while you “can’t tell the police who to arrest or who not to arrest,” but as District Attorney you would like to assure that “when it comes to us, that we are not making charging decisions that are biased in any way.” You can view the video here: 

In light of your commitment to make unbiased charging decisions, I urge you to drop the charges against Mr. Hayden. Given Mr. Hayden’s prominent role in filming the police, it is clear that his arrest was retaliation for his community activities. I also urge you to take seriously the dangers of police practices that effectively silence citizens who dissent. United States Attorney General Eric Holder has affirmed the right to record police officers in the public performance of their duties. By allowing Mr. Hayden’s indictment to proceed, the Manhattan District Attorney casts a chilling effect on this right.

Thank you for your kind attention to this letter.

Sincerely

[NAME]
[ADDRESS]

you can also Sign The Petition

Click here to sign the Change.org petition asking District Attorney Cyrus Vance to Drop the Charges

NY Times - Cuomo Seeks Cut in Frisk Arrests

By THOMAS KAPLAN

Wading into the debate over stop-and-frisk police tactics, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo plans to ask legislators on Monday for a change in New York State law that would drastically reduce the number of people who could be arrested for marijuana possession as a result of police stops.

The governor will call for the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view, administration officials said. Advocates of such a change say the offense has ensnared tens of thousands of young black and Latino men who are stopped by the New York City police for other reasons but after being instructed to empty their pockets, find themselves charged with a crime.

Reducing the impact of the Bloomberg administration’s stop-and-frisk policy has been a top priority of lawmakers from minority neighborhoods, who have urged Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, to pay more attention to the needs of their communities. The lawmakers argue that young men found with small amounts of marijuana are being needlessly funneled into the criminal justice system and have difficulty finding jobs as a result.

By deciding to get involved in the biggest law enforcement issue roiling New York City, Mr. Cuomo is again inserting himself into the affairs of the city in a way that has been welcomed by some and resented by others. He previously brokered the resolution of a dispute over legalizing street hails of livery cabs, and he ordered the city to stop requiring that food stamp applicants be fingerprinted.

In this case, the governor would be acting against the wishes of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, and in spite of a September directive from the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, who instructed officers not to arrest people who take small amounts of marijuana out of their pockets or bags after being stopped by the police.

The Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group critical of the Police Department’s marijuana arrest policies, found that only a modest decline in the arrests followed Mr. Kelly’s memorandum.

Though the governor’s legislation does not address the high number of stops by the police, it would take aim at what many black and Hispanic lawmakers as well as advocacy groups say has been one of the most damaging results of the aggressive police tactics: arrest records for young people who have small amounts of marijuana in their pockets.

“For individuals who have any kind of a record, even a minuscule one, the obstacles are enormous to employment and to education,” said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “When it’s really a huge number of kids in the community who go through this, and all have the same story, the impact is just devastating.”

The police in New York City made 50,684 arrests last year for possession of a small amount of marijuana, more than for any other offense, according to an analysis of state data by Harry G. Levine, a sociologist at Queens College. The arrests continued — one in seven arrests made in the city was for low-level marijuana possession — even as Commissioner Kelly issued his directive.

Mr. Bloomberg has opposed ending arrests for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. His administration has argued that the arrests serve to reduce more serious crime by deterring drug dealing and the violence that can accompany the drug trade.

Read full Story

 ATH Video of NYPD Arresting a Man For Marijuana Joint In Harlem

All prior convictions under Bloomberg and Kelly's racist policy and practice should be expunged and the "victims" compensated and apologized to by the City.

On April 18, 2012 supporters, community members and activists came out to support community leader Shaka Shakur in court. The result was that Shaka's case was postponed until May 3, 2012. Please come out and support him for his next court date.

Also as supporters were leaving the the court, court officers attempted to intimidate them by harassing them and issued a disorderly conduct summons to Brother Shep of the People's Survival Program and Universal Zulu Nation while he was trying to leave.

On April 17, 2012 supporters, community members and activists came out to support Joseph "Jazz" Hayden in court. Before heading into court there was a press conference that included speakers, Sarah Kunstler, Robert Gangi, Johanna Fernandez, King Downing, Laura Whitehorn, Lewis Webb and Joseph "Jazz" Hayden.

This was Jazz's third time in court for felony charges he is facing in an attempted retaliation by the NYPD to stop his activist work, which entails filming the police in the Harlem community. Full details here, http://bit.ly/AmEj6y

After only a few minutes in court Jazz's case was postponed to July 31, 2012.

Supporters headed back outside and recapped what happened and whats the next step. They also addressed the long line of people who were heading into court that day. Letting them know that "they are not the criminals" and that its really the system that is criminal.

A man who was heading into court stepped out of the line to tell us his story of how he was wrongfully arrested for carrying his work tools and being stopped and frisked and accused of Felony Possession of a Weapon.

Shaka Shakur another one of our community leaders who is facing retaliation from the NYPD with a case of his own also spoke along with Brother Shep of the Universal Zulu Nation. They further elaborated on the bigger picture of this unjust and racist system that is being used to destroy our communities. Brother Shep urged the audience to go to Washington D.C. next week to Occupy the Justice Department. See occupythejusticedepartment.com for details.

Jazz Hayden and the Fight Against Stop-and-Frisk

An unlikely activist's battle with the NYPD's frisky business

By Graham Rayman, Photographs by Lyric Cabral

Photo By:Lyric Cabral - The majority of New Yorkers targeted in stop-and-frisks are young black and Hispanic males. “Harlem is turning into an open-air prison, a minimum-security prison, and the people think it’s normal,” Hayden says.

Village Voice - Hayden, a longtime Harlem community activist, films stop-and-frisks and then posts the videos to the Internet as part of his Copwatch program. Hayden plans to sue the NYPD for improper stop and arrest after he was pulled over by police in December.

The 70-year-old Hayden, whose given name is Joseph, is a longtime community activist in Harlem. In a past life, he was a street hustler who served three years in prison in the late 1950s for drugs, was falsely accused in the late 1960s in a high-profile shooting of two police officers in the politically turbulent year of 1968, was convicted of money laundering in the 1970s, and served 13 years in prison from 1986 to 2000 for manslaughter after a traffic dispute turned fatal.

Hayden has spent the past four years irritating police officers by videotaping them as they stop and frisk people in Harlem in a program he calls "Copwatch." He often posts the videos on the Internet. For most of that period, he encountered little more than annoyed cops, but recently, his activities might have caught up with him.

Last summer, Hayden filmed two plainclothes officers during an evening car stop. The exchange between Hayden and the officers was contentious, even though the two motorists who were stopped were let go without charges.

At least one officer was aware of Hayden's past, because at one point, he can be heard saying: "You done selling drugs yet or what? I know your rap sheet." And then later, the tape shows, the same officer can be heard saying: "Go sell some more drugs, sir. We know your background. I know who you are."

Then, on December 2, as Hayden drove away after a meeting at Riverside Church, the same two officers stopped him, searched him, and arrested him for possession of a penknife. "We know you," one of them said.

"These guys knew who I was," Hayden says, calling it "NYPD officers taking revenge on me. . . . It was clear retaliation."

Chris Woods, a 35-year-old security guard, happened to be walking by and witnessed the police stop Hayden. "He didn't say anything offensive or abusive to the officers, but that wasn't good enough for them," Woods says. "That he was talking with them seemed to make them more furious. The whole thing shouldn't even have been a criminal matter."

What probably should have been a minor incident became 48 hours in holding cells and a felony weapons charge against the activist. Hayden's arrest has also become something of a cause in Harlem.

Among other events, Hayden's allies organized a protest at the Manhattan Supreme Court on January 19, one of his court dates. The protest was attended by elected officials and activists. The board of the radio station WBAI, where Hayden was once a producer, passed a resolution in support of him.

In 2010, the NYPD, in a campaign touted by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as a key element in the war on crime, stopped more than 600,000 people throughout the city. From 2004 to 2009, police stopped 2.8 million people; the largest age group is males 15 to 19, following by males ages 20 to 24. Just 9 percent of the stops resulted in an arrest. And in 2011, the police were on pace for 686,000 stops—a new record.

In the 2010 Voice series "The NYPD Tapes," police supervisors in the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuvesant order cops to make a quota of one or two stops per tour. Police Officer Adil Polanco, who was assigned to a Bronx precinct, said similarly that there was a stop-and-frisk quota there. If those orders are typical for most precincts—and that appears to be the case from the tapes and Polanco's statements—then quotas are a key factor in fueling the rise in stops.

Even so, Kelly has said repeatedly that the stops keep people from carrying weapons, drugs, and other illicit items on the street. He said it again most recently in a December 11 affidavit filed as part of a lawsuit: "Stops serve as a deterrent to criminal activity."

He has been backed on this by Mayor Bloomberg, the New York Post and Daily News editorial pages, and commentators including the Manhattan Institute's Heather Mac Donald, who tied the stops to the crime decline and declared that the campaign "saves minorities' lives."

And yet the campaign has spawned ongoing opposition not only from elected officials and activists but also from regular New Yorkers. Last September, police stopped and handcuffed Counciman Jumaane Williams and an associate at Brooklyn's West Indian Day Parade.

Williams raised a fuss, which led police spokesman Paul Browne to claim that someone had punched a police officer during the incident. Williams called that claim a "bald-faced lie," and Browne hasn't uttered another word about it since.

But aside from public opinion, there's a major cost to the campaign in actual dollars. Over the past couple of years, the number of lawsuits filed by New Yorkers alleging improper stop-and-frisks has continued to grow. There might be some element of lawyers seeing a new area in the always-busy police-litigation business, but the rise also indicates a frustration among New Yorkers with the practice.

In the month of January alone, more than three dozen lawsuits alleging improper stop-and-frisks were filed, based on a Voice reading of the complaints. Extrapolated, that means that the city could be sued more than 400 times this year alone just on improper stops.

Read Full Story at Village Voice

NYPD strikes again, brutally beating a Bronx Teen, Jatiek Reed, 19, last week.  The incident was caught on video and is another example of a Police department that is out of control and brutalizing our communties.  Even Police Commissioner Ray Kelly who almost never admits any wrong doing on behalf of the NYPD stated that, "the video was disturbing."  The officers in the video were also stripped of their guns for the time being and put on desk duty while NYPD investigates the incident internally.  This incident and the filming of it further empasizes the importance of citizens taking out their cameras and monitoring police activity.  If this video had not come out this would just be another everyday case of the police officers word verse the victims word.  All Things Harlem urges our viewers to please film police activity in our communities. 

Watch Full Video

See more coverage of this story.

Bro. Shaka Speaking On Police Terror To Harlem Youth In The Hood

Occupy The Courts!

Bro. Shaka Shakur, a coordinator of the Peoples Survival Program in Harlem was arrested at work after a taskforce of police agents raided his apartment in the Bronx with a baseless warrant.  In the course of the raid the police also took the opportunity to violate the home of veteran Black Panther Cyril "Bullwhip" Innis under the guise of an alleged search for illegal weapons.

PRESS CONFERENCE/COURT HOUSE RALLY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2012 9:00AM THE BRONX COUNTY CRIMINAL COURT Part B

Video of Bro. Shaka discussing his upcoming court case at a press Conference in support Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, another Harlem community leader under attack by the NYPD. January 12, 2012.

Save The Date and come out on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 as we collectively "Occupy The Bronx Courthouse" in support of those who actively fight against Police Terror by the NYPD.

Additionally, Thanks to the very successful fundraising event organized by CEMOTAP; We now only need a balance of $2,500.00 to cover the legal expenses for Bro. Shaka Shakur.

For those who were unable to attend this community fundraiser and still wish to contribute to the legal expenses needed to win this case; We ask that you please make out your check or moneyorder payable to our attorney
Michael W. Warren with a notation for the Shaka Shakur Defense Fund and to then Mail Your Support Contribution To:

Michael W. Warren, P.C.
580 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11238

For more information contact:

Phone - 212-650-5008

Emails - peoplessurvivalprogram@aol.com, safiyanuhfoundation@yahoo.com, Panthershepcat@aol.com

Directions to Bronx Criminal Court:

215 East 161st Street (near Sherman & Sheridan Avenues) C, D or 4 train to the Yankee Stadium/161st Street Station. BX 6 or BX 13 to East 161st Street & Sheridan Avenue; the BX 1 to East 161st Street & Grand Concourse

 A Statment of Thanks and Blessings From Shaka

Click Photo for NY1 Coverage

Community members, social activists, religious and political leaders all came together outside of the Manhattan Supreme Court for a press conference in support of Joseph "Jazz" Hayden and to rally against the NYPD's racist practice known as Stop and Frisk.

Jazz was a recent victim of retaliation by the NYPD when he was arrested by the same 2 officers he filmed last summer during a Copwatch. He has been out filming police activity and Stop and Frisks in Harlem for the past 3 years and posting these videos to youtube(playlist) and allthingsharlem.com. For full story and detail behind the arrest view here - http://bit.ly/AmEj6y.

The court decided to send Jazz's case to the Grand Jury and his next court date will be on April 17, 2012. Please come out again and support him on this day. More details will follow.

All Things Harlem - Video Coverage

 JOIN US ON THE STEPS OF THE MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT   
IN SUPPORT OF HARLEM COMMUNITY ACTIVIST   
JOSEPH “JAZZ” HAYDEN

JANUARY 19, 2012
8:30AM
100 CENTRE STREET

 
 
A LONGSTANDING MONITOR OF POLICE CONDUCT AND THE RECENT VICTIM OF
AN ILLEGAL STOP AND FRISK AND RETALIATORY ARREST.
 

AND CHALLENGING  
  POLICE MISCONDUCT IN OUR
COMMUNITIES
 
Current Speakers: 

Charles Barron, City Council

King Downing, American Friends Service Committee

Liz Fink, civil rights attorney

Kassandra Frederique, Policy Associate, Drug Policy Alliance

Robert Gangi, Senior Policy Advocate, Urban Justice Center

Jazz Hayden, Campaign to End the New Jim Crow

Sarah Kunstler, civil rights attorney

Rev. Stephen Phelps, Senior Minister, The Riverside Church

Yusef Salaam, defendant in the Central Park jogger case

Chet Whye, Executive Director, Harlem4 Center for Change

Jumaane Williams, City Council

Nahal Zamani, Advocacy and Program Manager, Government Misconduct and Racial Justice, Center for Constitutional Rights

On December 2, 2011 - Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, Founder of allthingsharlem.com, was arrested by the NYPD in retaliation by 2 officers he filmed in an earlier Copwatch this summer.  

Jazz and All Things Harlem are asking for your support with his case and to fight for the right to film and report on the police activity in our communities - which have turned into police states. 

Jazz's next Court Date is January 19, 2012 at 100 Centre Street Criminal Court Part F, 9:30am  Please Come out for a Stop/Frisk and Media Rights Day of Action at the Courthouse. (More Details to Follow)

Here is a letter from Jazz detailing the incident 

 Dear Friends,

I wanted to share this story of these NYPD officers taking revenge on me.  As you might know I make it a habit of filming the many incidents of the NYPD, Stopping and Frisking people in the Harlem community.  On December 2, 2011 when I was leaving my weekly Campaign To End The New Jim Crow Working group meeting at Riverside Church I was pulled over by 2 NYPD officers.  It turned out that it was the same 2 officers I had filmed in a Copwatch, Stop and Frisk incident this summer.  

During the video below you can hear the officer's talking to me and saying that they know who I am and know my background.

At minute, 5:05 the officer can be heard saying, "You done selling drugs yet or what? I know your rap sheet."  Then again around 5:55 the officer can be heard saying, "Go Sell some more drugs Sir.  We know your background, I know who you are."

Flashback to a few weeks ago when I was driving through Harlem and these same officers pulled me over.  As they approached my car and recognized me they said, "hey we know you, you're that murderer."  I asked them why I was being stopped and they eventually said that one of my brake lights was out.  They asked me for my license and registration which I gave them and then I was asked to step out of the car.  I complied and got out of my car but told them that they had no right and no consent to search my car or myself, but that they could pat frisk me.   After I told the officers that, they asked me to go to the back of my car and stand there.  

As soon as I got to the back of my car one officer immediately ignored my statement and went right inside my car and began searching it.  After a few minutes of this illegal search the officer came out of the car and "proudly" presented a Pen Knife (a knife that can be bought at any hardware store or discount store).   I was then arrested for Felony Possession of a dangerous weapon and taken to the 32nd precinct.  Shortly after I arrived there and was being booked, they asked me if I had any medical problems and I told them about my high blood pressure.  I was then taken to Harlem hospital for a few hours where my blood pressure was measured extremely high (163 over 103).  I was kept at the hospital until it subsided and then brought back to the 32nd precinct.  This all took place on a Friday night and I ended having to stay at the 32nd precinct until late Sunday night, without food or medication, when I was finally able to see a judge downtown.  

At the court hearing the prosecution requested that I be held on a bail of 16k.  The affidavit that the NYPD filled out made no mention of my alleged brake lights being out and I wasn't charged with any traffic violations.  The officers cited in the affidavit that they saw me moving my hand on the console in my car and that was their reason for stopping me.  After I showed my legal aide lawyer the videos and work I have been doing on my CopWatch to fight against Stop and Frisk he pointed this out to the judge.  After reviewing the evidence and my record the Judge released me on my own recognizance.  

I am now scheduled for another court date on January 19, 2011.  I am asking you to come to the court and support me if you can against this NYPD injustice.  Community groups including the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, WBAI and others will be supporting me on this day, please join them.  

Stop/Frisk and Media Rights Day of Action on January 19, 2012 at 100 Centre Street Criminal Court Part F, 9:30am

(More details to follow)

Sincerely,

Joseph “Jazz” Hayden

Email: info@allthingsharlem.com

PS: Read the Resolution passed by WBAI's Local Station Board below:

RESOLUTION PASSED  In Support of Jazz Hayden  Former WBAI producer Jazz Hayden -- a co-founder of "On the Count" -- was  stopped in Harlem for a traffic violation Friday night, December 2, 2011.  When he was pulled over, the cops said, "We know you," according to Jazz Hayden.  They were the SAME cops he filmed at a cop watch stop and frisk during the  summer: The cops then proceeded to search his car and arrest him for a pen knife. They kept him for close to 48 hours and asked for $16k bond, but the judge released him on his own recognizance.  Jazz Hayden has a January court date. The WBAI LSB respects and supports Jazz Hayden and condemns such police harassment and arrest. We invite listeners to express their solidarity with Mr. Hayden by coming to court in January, and request that WBAI cover this story.