NYPD is notorious for its blatant racial profiling, from which its own black officers aren’t exempt. Reuters, a news agency, interviewed 25 black male officers of the NYPD, 15 retired and 10 active, and “all but one said that, when off duty and out of uniform, they had been victims of racial profiling,” which “included being pulled over for no reason, having their heads slammed against their cars, getting guns brandished in their faces, being thrown into prison vans and experiencing stop and frisks while shopping. The majority of the officers said they had been pulled over multiple times while driving. Five had had guns pulled on them.”
There have even been cases where black cops were killed by white cops who assumed they were criminals, and partly for this reason, many black cops are afraid of their white fellow cops.
The black officers said they were profiled only by white cops, and if they complained, their superiors did nothing and they suffered retaliation. Names of officers filing complaints with Internal Affairs are supposed to be kept confidential but are often leaked. Police also targeted citizen activists who videotaped police activity or organized protests against police practices.
The public’s perception that NYPD police are becoming more aggressive isn’t imaginary. Since 2000, the number of lawsuits filed against police has risen 214% and the cost of settlements is up 74%.
Defenders of racial profiling claim blacks are more crime-prone and assert the NYPD’s controversial random “stop and frisk” practices, which overwhelmingly targets minorities, dramatically reduce crime. But police statistics show that 9 of every 10 people stopped by police in these sweeps are innocent citizens going about their business. Last year a federal judge ruled the “stop and frisk” policy is unconstitutional and ordered it halted. Her rulings were modified by a federal appeals court, in a way that doesn’t outlaw the practice altogether, but under a new and more liberal mayor, the city is going ahead with “stop and frisk” reforms.
