Remember & never forget, Dermot Shea (@NYPDShea), head of NYPD, praised his force for their "restraint" in their brutal suppression of peaceful protests & slammed criticism, despite all the video, all witness statements, a Human Rights Watch investigation. nytimes.com/2020/12/18/nyr…
Colleagues-public defenders, civil rights attorney, experts of police misconduct-& I viewed hundreds of videos from early on in protests. We saw violent felonies. Civil rights violations. Patrol guide violations. We found that the NYPD is *unreformable.* nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…
NYT collected 64 videos of extreme violence committed by the NYPD in the first 2 weeks of the protests. In this same period, NYC taxpayers paid NYPD officers *$115 million* in overtime. To assault, maim, choke, beat, & terrorize protestors. We need to talk.nytimes.com/interactive/20…
There was a billboard in Times Square. Directly across from the NYPD station. With this message: “Hey NYPD. It’s us. NYC residents. The ones who pay your salary. “We paid $300 million to settle your lawsuits. You paid nothing. We need to talk.” Watch:
Human Rights Watch (@hrw) came out w/ a horrifying investigation back in Sept. The NYPD attack on hundreds of protestors in early June in the Bronx wasn't just criminal & unconstitutional. It was *planned*. NYPD used the curfew to trap, assault, & arrest. hrw.org/news/2020/09/3…
After @hrw released their report based on videos, mapping tech, interviews w/ hundreds who were trapped 10 minutes before curfew to justify attacking them for being out past curfew. Chief “I’m not going to apologize”—then this:
And here it is. @NYPDShea needs to resign: “I think the officers used an incredible amount of restraint in terms of allowing people to vent. I am proud of their performance in policing these protests, ending the riots, and upholding the rule of law.” gothamgazette.com/city/9952-derm…
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A man was on probation in Florida. On a single night, got home 26 minutes past curfew. His punishment: 201 months in prison! That's *16 years* in prison! On Dec. 2, a Florida appeals court *affirmed* this outrageous sentence. Why is this not news? Opinion: 2dca.org/content/downlo…
I learned about this case from criminal defense attorneys in Florida. @adamtebrugge & @floridalawwoman. This is not unusual. Unfortunately. Including the fact that it's so non unusual that no one even wrote about it.
Very important note: This isn't just about the cruelty of judges. This is probation officers, who decided to arrest & violate this man & push this cruelty. It's prosecutors who supported this cruelty. It's the probation system: Arbitrary, harsh, & not equipped to help only hurt.
REPORT: "10 states haven't included incarcerated people in any stage of their vaccine allotment plans." This is disgrace. It's also a public health failure. prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/12/0…
The states that do not include incarcerated people in any phase of their vaccine allotment plans are: Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, *Kansas, *Michigan, *Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and *Wisconsin. Four of these states (with *) are run by Democratic governors.
Report Recommendation 1: "Incarcerated people and corrections staff should be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19. States and the Federal Bureau of Prisons should not consider vaccination of staff as sufficient to stop the spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities."
OUTRAGEOUS: In Prince George's County, MD, judges routinely "authorize" release instead of set bail. Sounds good, right? No. It really means they pass the buck & the *jail gets to decide if/when a person is released. Result: People stay caged during COVID. taibbi.substack.com/p/what-public-…
"If the defendant is innocent but ends up unjustly jailed for a long time before trial, not the judge’s fault: they 'authorized' release. If the accused gets out & commits a serious crime, also not judge’s fault: it was Pretrial Services (the jail) that released the defendant."
"In the parody of the bail process, judges can punt crucial decisions. Although the system seems not to have been designed for this, as it currently stands, judges facing thorny decisions can buy the equivalent of a political options contract as an alternative to judgment."
A woman plows into Black Lives Matter protestors w/ her car. Gets a ticket. Charged w/ a misdemeanor. Released from precinct. If a Black teen gets caught w/ a gun after an illegal search, no use, only possession, it’s Rikers. Violent felony. Up to 15 years.nypost.com/2020/12/12/dri…
If only the people most targeted by the police for just living, walking down the street—Black & Brown communities in only certain neighborhoods—were treated with the same discretion, leniency, & care as a white woman trying to murder people speaking out against systematic racism.
NYC cops & prosecutors spent years fighting reforms requiring tickets like the one this woman received &/or freeing ppl for misdemeanors/felonies w/ no injury or no intent to cause injury. But run over BLM protestors? They’ll go out of their way to ensure your release.
“My name is Cassandra Greer. I am the wife of Nickolas Lee. I’m calling calling calling the jail to no avail. His health is declining. He was gasping for air. I was telling him memories we had. Things we were gonna do. But God saw fit for something else.”
Cassandra's husband was one of the first to die in Chicago's Cook County Jail. She told her story. Local artists illustrated. This is part 2 of 132Calls.com. "I'm calling, calling, calling, to no avail. Calling Sheriff Tom Dart's office to no avail." More from her:
"I'm calling Cermak, which is the hospital on the jail compound. At Cermak there's not an operator or anyone you can speak with. All the while that I'm calling, trying to receive help, my husband's health is declining."
Every year, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers get trapped in a cycle of debt & criminalization simply because they can't afford to pay a traffic ticket.
The legislature passed a bill in July to end this travesty. Yet @NYGovCuomo has yet to indicate whether he'll sign it.
Since 2018, 10 governors from across the political spectrum have enacted legislation to end debt-based driver's license suspensions.
Not a single governor has ever vetoed this reform. @NYGovCuomo, don't get left out!