Three months ago, NYPD officers in SWAT gear arrested 19-year-old Adrian Napier at gun point on a crowded subway car in Brooklyn, as passengers looked on in terror.
He was arrested for jumping the turnstile. Now prosecutors have dismissed that case.
nypost.com/2020/01/17/man…
He was arrested for jumping the turnstile. Now prosecutors have dismissed that case.
nypost.com/2020/01/17/man…
This is not extraordinary.
A majority of cases in New York, including felonies, end up getting dismissed. Not plea-bargained, outright dismissed.
A majority of cases in New York, including felonies, end up getting dismissed. Not plea-bargained, outright dismissed.
That's not because of "legal technicalities." It's because police and prosecutors didn't have enough evidence and didn't properly investigate the cases before bringing the charges.
This case lasted three months. Some cases go on for a year or more before being dismissed.
This case lasted three months. Some cases go on for a year or more before being dismissed.
Mr. Napier was released on his own recognizance. Some people are held in jail. Some people whose cases would be dismissed, plead guilty to crimes to get out of jail.
The level of violence used by the police to effectuate an arrest here is not extraordinary. It's only that it was so visible - on a crowded subway car during rush hour and caught on video.
I will be interviewing a person I represent at arraignments arrested for trespassing for, say, walking across a construction site, and they'll say, so yeah then the cop threw me to the ground and held the gun to my head. And they'll mention it so casually, I never get used to it.
What is happening now with more cops on the subways is that the police violence Black and Brown teenagers have always experienced is being made more visible to White people. Maybe this helps effectuate change. Maybe the subway becomes a tool for those who fearmonger against it.
PS. I said police in SWAT gear. Most of the police were not in SWAT gear.
