Attorney at Law David Perecman believes police departments need to hold officers more accountable for treating racial groups equally. Apparently, the New York Police Department needs to continue making changes to ensure blacks have equal rights with whites. According to New York Magazine (10.1.14), a police cruiser tried to get a group of black teenagers to leave Park Slope, Brooklyn on a Saturday afternoon. Allegedly the officers attempted to do this by shouting “get out of the neighborhood” at them over the car’s loudspeaker. Sara Bennett, a Brooklyn resident claimed she witnessed the police follow a group of “five or six kids who appeared to be around 16 years old and were simply walking through the neighborhood” during the afternoon. The police then turned on the squad car lights and told the teens to leave the area, reported New York Magazine. No crimes were being committed at the time of the incident. Commanding Officer Captain Frank DiGiacomo said he hadn’t heard of this event, reported New York Magazine. However, as a potential explanation, he cited the growing crime around the Atlantic Terminal area, an area about a mile and a half away from where the incident happened. “Most of the crimes that happen in our command are from outside people committing the crimes,” DiGiacomo said, according to New York Magazine. Apparently, without speaking to them the police had determined that the youths were from outside the area. The demographics website City-Data.com showed that Park Slope is only about 10 percent African American. “It is somewhat hard to believe that the police officers would have treated white or Asian kids the same way,” said Perecman. “All New Yorkers and visitors should be able to believe that the police will treat them fairly and with respect, regardless of their color or ethnicity,” he added. “Racial profiling and discrimination based on race is wrong and a violation of the principle of equality.” The New York Magazine article cited is “NYPD Reportedly Told Black Teens in Park Slope to ‘Get Out of the Neighborhood’.” For more than 30 years, the civil rights violation lawyers at The Perecman Firm, in New York have aggressively helped victims of racial profiling and discrimination. Contact The Perecman Firm, at 212-977-7033.
David Perecman Calls For More NYPD Accountability After Report of Black Teens Being Told To Leave Park Slope Neighborhood