Study claims NYPD made hundreds of unlawful pot arrests
DANIEL BEEKMAN
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Bronx cops made hundreds of
unlawful marijuana arrests and trumped-up charges over a five-month period last
year despite a warning from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, claims a study
by the Bronx Defenders.
The study released Friday
shows that illegal stops and searches are an “epidemic” in the Bronx, said
Robin Steinberg, Bronx Defenders executive director.
Her organization interviewed
518 people apprehended for marijuana possession from May to October 2011 and
found that 41% had their rights violated.
In 176 cases, there was no
cause for people to be detained, and in 184, the organization concluded that
cops "manufactured" misdemeanor charges by forcing people to show
their pot.
Nearly all the people arrested
for marijuana possession in the Bronx are black and Latino men.
The cases reveal "a
policing strategy that overwhelmingly and disproportionately targets young
people of color and relies on rampant disregard for the civil rights of the
people the NYPD is charged with protecting," the organization said in a statement.
In New York, possession of a
small amount of marijuana is only a misdemeanor when the pot is displayed in
public. When the substance is concealed, it becomes a violation punishable by a
fine - even when an officer pulls the pot out of the defendant's pocket or
orders the defendant to pull it out.
NYPD officials said they would
not comment because they have not seen the study.
Last September, the
commissioner issued an internal order related to arrests for small amounts of
pot not in public view.
However, the Marijuana Arrest
Project study found that illegal stops and wrongful marijuana arrests actually
increased in the month after the order, from 31% to 44% and from 33% to 44%.
People arrested for pot in the
Bronx are often handcuffed and jailed for 24 hours. Such arrests can ruin lives
because they can lead to a criminal record, eviction, deportation, loss of
parental rights, denial of financial aid and loss of employment.
The negative consequences of
the arrests hurt the low-income neighborhoods where most of the collars are
made, Steinberg said.
Many people arrested for small
amounts of marijuana in the Bronx have no prior criminal record and receive
adjournments that are eventually dismissed.
Most defendants who fight back
plead guilty rather than miss work or school for numerous court dates, said
Scott Levy, the Bronx Defenders lawyer who led the study.
Vocal critics of the
"stop and frisk" strategy used by the NYPD, including the Bronx
Defenders, claim it leads to illegal searches of minority youth.
But proponents such as Kelly
and Mayor Bloomberg argue it allows officers to nab people with illegal guns
and make high-crime neighborhoods safer.
dbeekman@nydailynews.com
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.
