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March 22, 2013

Audio: NY Police Official Appears to Advocate Racial Profiling 
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Newly emerged evidence appears to show members of the New York City
Police Department explicitly using race as a factor to determine who
should be stopped and searched. Critics of the city's stop-and-frisk
policy have long noted nearly 90 percent of those targeted are African
American or Latino. But an audio recording played during the trial for a
lawsuit challenging the policy shows an official calling for police to
stop "the right people." Deputy Inspector Christopher Mc Cormack is a
commanding officer at the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx, a precinct
that has recorded a high number of stops. He was caught on recording by 
Officer Pedro Serrano, who asks him who the "right people" are, exactly.

Deputy Inspector Christopher Mc Cormack: "This is about stopping the
right people, the right place, the right location. Again, take Mott
Haven, where we had the most problems."

Officer Pedro Serrano: "Right."

Deputy Inspector Christopher Mc Cormack: "And the most problems we had
there was robberies and grand larcenies.

Officer Pedro Serrano: "And who are those people robbing?"

Deputy Inspector Christopher Mc Cormack: "The problem was, what, male
blacks. And I told you at roll call, and I have no problem telling you
this, male blacks 14 to 20, 21."

 

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