*Back in 2016, a veteran with the New York Police Department filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NYPD claiming he was disciplined for not targeting Black and Hispanics while on patrol in New York’s subways.
Testimony in that trail got underway this week, and sworn statements revealed how, under former Captain Constantin Tsachas, officers were specifically instructed to “go after blacks and Latinos” for minor subway offenses.
The New York Times reported Friday that six officers noted incidents between 2011 and 2015 when Tsachas “pressured” them to issue violations to commuters of color while describing white and Asian people as “soft targets.”
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Right now, there is a total of 11 NYPD officers in this subway station. Each with airpods in, circled up and talking about breakfast. This would be wholesome and sweet if it didn’t cost hundreds of dollars to fund. But thank GOD they’re here to make sure people pay $2.75
— swervy spice (@ServandoNYC) December 3, 2019
All this JUST to police black and brown bodies in poverty…..imagine if our govt. invested in those same folks’ education and well-being!!!!!!!!!!
— crispy chicken schnitzel (@lou_achoo) December 3, 2019
Tsachas, who has since shifted to deputy inspector duties, has denied the allegations, but data cited in the Times report supports the testimony of the officers in signed affidavits that are part of a suit brought by four officers, (all of whom are black or Hispanic), per Complex. All but one of the six officers in the suit are retired.
via the Times:
Most of the people arrested on charges of fare evasion in New York are black or Hispanic, according to data the Police Department has been required to report under local law since 2017. Between October 2017 and June 2019, black and Hispanic people made up nearly 73 percent of those who got ticket for fare evasion and whose race was recorded. They also made up more than 90 percent of those who were arrested, rather than given a ticket.
“Tsachas would get angry if you tried to patrol subway stations in predominately white or Asian neighborhoods,” one officer is quoted as saying.
Read the full Times report here.
