Ramarley Graham's family, along with community members, activists and supporters held the last vigil for Ramarley.   This was the 18th of weekly vigils held for Ramarley and represented his age at the time he was killed.  Months earlier Ramarley was shot and killed by NYPD officer Richard Haste in his own home.  Ramarley was unarmed.

The group marched through the neighborhood in the Bronx before descending on the 47th Precinct.  There Student Minister Abdul Hafeez Muhammad of Mosque No. 7 addressed the crowd.  

Soon after the group left the 47th Precinct and headed to a local church to hear from more speakers including, The Reverend Al Sharpton, Councilman Jumaane Williams and New York City Comptroller John Liu.  

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

When local activists Christina Gonzalez and Matthew Swaye arrived to attend their local 30th Precinct Community Board Meeting they were surprised to see a picture of their face hanging in the precinct labeling them as "professional agitators."

Click for full story

Voices from the Silent March to End Stop and Frisk in New York City on Father's Day, June 17, 2012. All Things Harlem spoke to a diverse group about the march and the NYPD's policy of stop and frisk.

Video From the Event

This video is of the diverse voices you wont see in mainstream media discussing the issue of stop and frisk and the NYPD in New York City.

Full Jeremy Scahill interview with Jazz.  Jeremy Scahill says that NYPD's policy of Stop and Frisk should be one of the premiere civil rights issues of the city. He also relates the issue to the global perspective and how our police have become militarized and resemble the oppressive regimes around the world that the United States criticizes.

Scahill's daughter a 5th grader successfully got her entire 5th grade class to sign a petition against stop and frisk. She says that her classmates as young as 12-years-old have been stopped and frisked while just hanging out with their friends.

Jeremy Scahill is national security correspondent for The Nation, and author of Blackwater.

Interview with John Liu.  John Liu is the Comptroller of New York City and the only potential Mayoral candidate currently calling for a complete end to stop & frisk, and not just a reform of the policy.

Arrests were made as the the Silent March to end stop and frisk wound down outside Mayor Bloomberg's home in New York City. As some of the remaining groups and people continued to protest and began changing their silence into noise, the massive presence of the NYPD formed up quickly in attempts to stamp out what remained of the march.

With orders coming over the phone from their bosses the chain of command took over and the NYPD management, (the guys in the suits on their phones) informed their captains (the guys in white shirts) to instruct their minions (the foot soldiers in blue) to begin to to clear 5th Avenue and push people onto the sidewalks and in between the barricades surrounding Mayor Bloomberg 's home. They did this by using their normal military apparatus of Motor Scooters, vans, batons, big orange netting, tons of zip tied handcuffs, police camera crew (TARU) etc.

With these tools they still relied on what they know best, brute force and intimidation along with a few arrests in hopes that this would disperse the crowd. In this situation they chose to arrest the biggest baddest most intimidating people of the group first - (young women).

All the while members of crowd chastised the police for their actions and challenged them to think about what they were doing and what they were supporting in their actions.

NYPD officer Richard Haste was indicted in the killing of Ramarley Graham and is being charged with manslaughter.  Haste is to turn himself in on Wednesday morning, June 13, 2012. 

ATH considers this to be only a small step in the right direction, but far from justice.  We are seeking a conviction of officer Haste.  We also believe that other members of the NYPD need to be held accountable.  What of the officers who falsely reported over the radio to Officer Haste that Ramarley had a gun?  How can they make this kind of accusation without knowing it for sure?  What of all the officers and commanding officers who were part of this "Street Narcotics Unit" that we saw on the scene in the surveillance footage outside Ramarley's Grahams house?  Who gave the call that it was ok to kick down his door to pursue him?  Is is standard police procedure to kick in peoples doors who are thought to have a gun?  Considering they had the entire house surrounded couldn't they have asked for Ramarley Graham to come out with his hands up?  These are just some of the questions that need to be asked.  Others are responsible for Ramarley's death, not solely officer Richard Haste. 

 Jose LaSalle, an organizer of the group Stop Stop-and-Frisk informed All Things Harlem that the Graham family would like for the court house in the Bronx to be full of Brothers and Sisters who believe this system isn't designed to protect those who commit crimes against the Human Family. Richard Haste will be at the court house on Jun 13, the court house is going to be full of police officers supporting the murderer Richard Haste. For all those who can make it, we ask you to be at the Bronx Criminal Court at 8:30 Am, there is going to be a conference outside and then we are going into court house to watch Richard Haste get indicted. Lets occupy the courts.

Location:  The Bronx Criminal Division is located at 215 East 161st Street, between Sherman & Sheridan Avenues.

Public Transportation:  Directions Take the C, D or 4 train to Yankee Stadium/161st Street Station. Take the BX 6 or BX 13 to East 161st Street & Sheridan Avenue; the BX 1 to East 161st Street & Grand Concourse.

NYCLU -  'Stop & Frisk Watch' is an easy and convenient way to hold the NYPD accountable for its actions. You can download it for free at www.nyclu.org/app The app has three main functions: Record, Listen and Report. The 'Record' function initiates your phone's camera. When you are finished recording, the app prompts a survey that you can fill out with any pertinent information regarding the police interaction you witnessed. This file, the video, audio and/or report are sent immediately to the New York Civil Liberties Union. The 'Listen' function turns on your phone's GPS and will alert you if any other 'Stop & Frisk Watch' users have started to film a police interaction in your vicinity. The 'Report' functions prompts the survey even if you didn't film the police interaction. 'Stop & Frisk Watch' also contains 'know your rights' information regarding your rights when you are stopped by police, and your rights to film police. For more information about what you can do to hold the police accountable or to see what the NYCLU has been doing for decades, go to www.nyclu.org

See Video of how the APP works.

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times - Justice Thomas D. Raffaele said a police officer in Queens, enraged at a jeering crowd, hit him in the throat on Friday.

ATH - Yet another case of the NYPD out of control.  Even this 69-year-old white Judge couldn't escape this dysfunctional police force that believes it can do anything it wants and get away with it.  If this Judge was just a regular citizen he would likely be facing charges of disorderly conduct of trying to assualt an officer.

Read More

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.

PROP (Police Reform Organizing Project) recently held a public forum that featured Current and former NYPD officers speaking about and critiquing their experiences working for the NYPD.  They addressed NYPD tactics such as Stop and Frisk as well as the departments use of Compstat.  The event was Moderated by Graham Rayman of the Village Voice, who has done excellent invstigative reporting on the NYPD.  Panelist included: Carlton Berkeley, President of Brothers and Sisters Who Care and former NYPD Detective 2nd Grade; John Eterno, Professor at Molloy College and former NYPD Captain; Jeff Kaufman, high school teacher in Brownsville and former NYPD Officer Counsel; Anthony Miranda, Chair of National Latino Officers Association and former NYPD Sergeant; Colleen Meenan, practicing attorney, former NYPD Sergeant, and former executive director of the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL); Adhyl Polanco, current NYPD Officer; and Graham Weatherspoon, Black Law Enforcement Alliance and former NYPD Detective.

For Video of this Event Click Here

Click Here or Photo for Video of Raw Footage from the Rally and March

Students are Organizing against Police in Schools

People Power Movement - Bronx, NY – A group of Bronx residents gathered on Monday, May 7th, at 3:30pm across the street from Lehman High School and marched to the 45th NYPD precinct to file a lawsuit against two police officers accused of harassment against Lehman High School student Malik Ayala.

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 & SHAKA SHAKUR WILL CHALLENGE NYPD TERROR "BACK TO BACK" IN COURT THIS WEEK

The beginning of 2012 has been marked by the NYPD's rein of terror. First, NYPD officers brutally beat 19 year old Jateik Reed then days later they forcefully broke into the Bronx home of 18 year old Ramarley Graham where they killed him in cold blood.  Activists and community members organized to rally against the inhumane and terrorist tactics that the NYPD continuously inflict on Black and Brown communities with Stop and Frisk and unwarranted surveillance and harrassment in these communities. The People want answers and demand that the NYPD are convicted of these crimes against humanity.

Videos of Rally

NYPD is Guilty - 42nd Precinct

In Front of Jateik's Building

"An Eye for an Eye"

Pack the Courthouse in support of
Jateik and his family.

Monday - Feb. 6th - 9am
Bronx Criminal Court
265 East 161st Street, Bronx, NY

Ramarley Graham, an 18 year old boy was shot and killed by the NYPD in his Bronx home on E229th street.  Community members, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, and retired NYPD detective, Chuck Berkely rallied in solidarity against police brutality, stop and frisk, and the NYPD terrorist tactics in the Black community.

R.I.P. Ramarley Graham

Click photo for NY1, report on the incident

The NYPD is totally out of control, they act like the military in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world -- serial killers. "Furtive movements" is a totally subjective standard used by the police to justify their unlawful behavior. How do you justify killing a young human being for possession of drugs, an inanimate object that poses no threat to anyone?  We need community control of policing, it is the only way to address this madness.

NY1 - Family members are demanding answers after police shot an killed an 18-year-old drug suspect who was apparently unarmed.  The shooting happened around 3 p.m. in a building on 229th Street in Wakefield.  Police say officers investigating street corner drug dealing approached 18-year-old Ramarley Graham who then took off on foot.  An officer chased him into his second-floor apartment where they struggled in a bathroom.  The officer fired one shot, hitting Graham in the chest.  Police say marijuana was found in the home, but no weapon was recovered.  Speaking to reporters, Graham's mother said police went too far.  "Like a regular kid, he's like you know, just like any other kid. You know you have kids who get in trouble, simple other stuff. But he wasn't that bad, he wasn't a bad kid. Not the kind of kid who carries guns around and slings no guns, he's not that type of kid," said Graham's mother, Constance Malcolm.  This is the third time in the past week that city police officers have shot and killed a suspect.

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.

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.