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.

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.  Sumpter 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. 

Watch Video

These type of actions are happening everyday to our youth in Harlem and around the city.  Is this this really the type of policing we want?  Wouldn't you prefer the officers to be focused on public safety rather than harassing and criminalizing our youth?  If someone truly did use falsely us a student metrocard or jump a turnstyle wouldn't a simple ticket suffice.  Why would handcuffing and arresting someone come from such a violation? Aren't there better ways we can use our resources?

Click on Image to view Allthingsharlem's Video Playlist of police coverage in Harlem and around NYC.

Susan Watts/New York Daily NewsWhen 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."

Christina and Mathew have been fighting to end the NYPD's policy of Stop and Frisk and have been doing this by taking videos of the NYPD in their Harlem neighborhood and posting the videos to their youtube channel.  They feel their videos and outspoken opposition to the police force have made them targets on NYPD.  This flyer would have us agree with them.

The NYPD recently made another effort to intimidate the couple and other Stop Stop and Frisk activists by showing up in front of their home after a Stop Stop and Frisk Meeting.  See Full Details Here.

We at All Things Harlem salute the courageous work of Christina and Matt.  They are true fighters who have sacrificed a lot and brought a lot of attention to the issue of Stop and Frisk and police abuse in New York City.

Here is a great example of the types of the Copwatch videos they do and have posted to their youtube channel.

Arrests were made as the the Silent March to end stop and frisk winded 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.

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

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.

NY Times - Thomas D. Raffaele, a 69-year-old justice of the New York State Supreme Court, encountered a chaotic scene while walking down a Queens street with a friend: Two uniformed police officers stood over a shirtless man lying facedown on the pavement. The man’s hands were cuffed behind his back and he was screaming. A crowd jeered at the officers.

The judge, concerned the crowd was becoming unruly, called 911 and reported that the officers needed help.

But within minutes, he said, one of the two officers became enraged — and the judge became his target. The officer screamed and cursed at the onlookers, some of whom were complaining about what they said was his violent treatment of the suspect, and then he focused on Justice Raffaele, who was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. The judge said the officer rushed forward and, using the upper edge of his hand, delivered a sharp blow to the judge’s throat that was like what he learned when he was trained in hand-to-hand combat in the Army.

The episode, Friday morning just after midnight — in which the judge says his initial complaint about the officer was dismissed by a sergeant, the ranking supervisor at the scene — is now the focus of investigations by the police Internal Affairs Bureau and the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

The judge said he believed the officer also hit one or two other people during the encounter on 74th Street near 37th Road, a busy commercial strip in Jackson Heights. But he said he could not be sure, because the blow to his throat sent him reeling back and he then doubled over in pain.

“I’ve always had profound respect for what they do,” Justice Raffaele said of the police, noting that he was “always very supportive” of the department during the more than 20 years he served on Community Board 3 in Jackson Heights before becoming a judge. At one point in the early 1990s, he added, he helped organize a civilian patrol in conjunction with the police. “And this I thought was very destructive.”

Read Full Story at NY Times

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. 

Students are Organizing against Police in Schools

45th Precinct Residents  File Complaint Against Abusive NYPD Officers
Groups March in Protest of Student Harassment

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.
 
Ayala, 16, became the target of police harassment in the hallway of his school, while waiting to take an exam. Ayala was engaged in conversation with some of his fellow students, and demands were made for his ID, records, and documents, first by Peace Officers, then by his Dean and then by the NYPD. Ayala was told that the literature he planned to hand out to fellow students was illegal because it had the Black Panther logo. He was then issued a summons for disorderly conduct. As a result of the time he spent with officers, Ayala was forced to miss that very important examination.

Less than two weeks later, Ayala noticed a young man being arrested in the subway and began to record the police actions with his cell phone. Officers demanded to see the phone, slammed him against the wall, and searched him despite Ayala’s refusal to agree to let them do so, which was his legal right. Once again, Ayala was served with a summons for disorderly conduct.

This is not a unique case. Local youth, predominantly of color, often go through the same experience daily in their schools and communities. On Monday May 7th we will march with fellow students and residents of the Bronx community to file complaints against officers who are harassing youth of color.

In schools where the majority of the student body is comprised of youth of color from working backgrounds, young people are treated not as students, but as criminals. There are metal detectors, peace officers, and the NYPD is called in routinely. Apparently the aim is to condition the students to be subjects of a police state, to create an atmosphere of intimidation and to establish a pipeline from schools to prisons.

For more information email: peoplepower@live.com or call: 212-537-4439

Harlem CopWatch, Friday April 13th at the Harlem State House between 125th and 126th and 6th Ave at 8pm Members of the Campaign Against the New Jim Crow, OWS, Liberation Summer, and other organizations against racial injustice are planning to flood Harlem streets with Cop Watchers on Friday the 13th. The action will involve activists filming police as they engaging in stop-and-frisk or make arrests. After the police have left the scene, a media van will arrive to project videos about racial injustice and rights violations, hand out flyers on the subject, and generally speak with and reach out to people in the neighborhood. The group is requesting legal observervation to discourage police from arresting filmers, as in the case of Jazz Hayden, who has been arrested for filming police and who will be participating in the event. There will likely be multiple groups of CopWatchers working simultaneously.

While passing through the train station we stumbled on NYPD rookies training on other human beings without any regards for their feelings or dignity; for some minor offense. The events depicted in this video are routine for Black and Brown men.

The police are looking for a suspect in a car accident. The description of the suspect is that he wore blue jeans and a grey shirt, no weight, height, or other notable features. The gentleman being detained is in a Harlem bar eating a meal. The cops come in and treat him like a suspect because "he fits the description", along with half the people in Harlem. These policemen were obvious rookies.

Photo From: Harlembespoke.com

Video Here

The Shrine, a Harlem bar and restaurant that provides live entertainment for a racially and ethnic diverse group, was "occupied" by NYPD on Saturday night March 10, 2012.  NYPD and others were apparently conducting an inspection. The resources used for this occupation were a dozen officers, commanders, vans, and police vehicles. For what?  Why on Saturday?  Where was the threat to public safety?  There was none.

Yet, another example of the NYPD's stop and frisk policy at work. On February 23, 2012 we passed 2 men being stopped and frisked outside of their car in Harlem. It turned out that the police stopped them because of the vehicles tinted windows. During the stop the driver had trouble finding his drivers license. Both men were told to get out of the car and had their bodies frisked. After their bodies were frisked the NYPD proceeded to search the vehicle.

While the men were standing at the back of the car the driver searched his pockets again and was able to find his license. At this point the NYPD took down all of the drivers information and let both him and the passenger go with no tickets or traffic violations.

Add another worthless stop and frisk to the 700,000 that take place in New York City each year. More people human rights were violated for no reason whatsoever other than driving while black in Harlem.

Full Video

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

Man who witnessed video from his fire escape also punched and attacked by NYPD in attempts to silence him.

NY1 - Report by Dean Meminger

NY1 - As the New York City Police Department has placed police officers involved with a violent arrest in the Bronx last week on modified duty, an eyewitness to the incident claims those same officers immediately went after him. NY1's Criminal Justice reporter Dean Meminger filed the following report.

Family Members of Jatiek Reed want the officers in the video charge with a crime.

NY1 - Report by Dean Meminger

NY1 - The Bronx man who says a video posted to YouTube proves that he was brutalized by several police officers appeared in court Wednesday, and his family is calling for charges to be brought against the officers involved in the incident. NY1’s Dean Meminger filed the following report.

If you are a young black man in NYC this data proves that chances are you will to be stopped.  In many cases more than once. In a letter to the editor of the NY Times. Lazar Treschan, Director of Youth Policy Community Service Society of New York points out...

"Our analysis of 2009 stop-and-frisk data for the New York police shows that 94 percent of stops in 2009 did not lead to an arrest. The analysis also showed that there were 132,000 stops of black men 16 to 24. This is particularly striking since according to Census Bureau data that we examined, only 120,000 black men of that age lived in New York City in 2009. So on average, every young black man can be expected to be stopped and frisked by the police each year."

"We cannot accept that so many young people experience their lives this way, particularly at such a formative stage. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s recent Young Men’s Initiative made little attempt to address stop-and-frisk policy. We must stop treating young black men like criminals and start thinking of them as potential assets to our recovering and growing economy and society. Until we do, our efforts to improve their education and employment prospects will be hollow." - Lazar Treschan

What do you think about this data?  Is every young black man in New York City a potential criminal? 

Ashley Gilbertson/VII, for The New York TimesThis young 23-year-old man gives us detailed accounts of the many stop and frisks that the NYPD has conducted on him during his short life.  He helps shed light and give us a personal account of the damage this racist practice of Stop and Frisk causes on individuals and the community as a whole.

Why Is The NYPD After Me? 

By: Nicholas K. Peart

NY Times - WHEN I was 14, my mother told me not to panic if a police officer stopped me. And she cautioned me to carry ID and never run away from the police or I could be shot. In the nine years since my mother gave me this advice, I have had numerous occasions to consider her wisdom.

One evening in August of 2006, I was celebrating my 18th birthday with my cousin and a friend. We were staying at my sister’s house on 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan and decided to walk to a nearby place and get some burgers. It was closed so we sat on benches in the median strip that runs down the middle of Broadway. We were talking, watching the night go by, enjoying the evening when suddenly, and out of nowhere, squad cars surrounded us. A policeman yelled from the window, “Get on the ground!”

I was stunned. And I was scared. Then I was on the ground — with a gun pointed at me. I couldn’t see what was happening but I could feel a policeman’s hand reach into my pocket and remove my wallet. Apparently he looked through and found the ID I kept there. “Happy Birthday,” he said sarcastically. The officers questioned my cousin and friend, asked what they were doing in town, and then said goodnight and left us on the sidewalk.

Read Full story at the NY TIMES

A member of OWS's Stop Stop and Frisk Campaign follows Police Commisioner Ray Kelly in attempts to hand him an honarary, Bull Conor award, for excellence in cracking down on people of color.

NYPD doing what they do best. Harassing and arresting protesters for in attempts to scare and deter at Day 4 of Occupy Wall Street.

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