Edwin Raymond, “I’ve been a cop for 8 years and for the last 8 years I’ve unfortunately witnessed this quota destroy lives”. “We ask the people to support this fight because this isn’t for us, it’s for You. I’D BE A SERGEANT RIGHT NOW IF I WENT ALONG WITH THIS POLICY”.

From the Press Release, “JUSTICE LEAGUE NYC STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH “NYPD BLUE 12” IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST RACIALLY BIASED POLICING NEW YORK, NY”:

Justice League NYC and New York Police Department officer/whistle-blower featured in New York Times Magazine cover story, Edwin Raymond, and their attorneys will host a press conference this Tuesday, March 1st to discuss the instances of bias that led to the class action lawsuit by officers of color. The case brings in question the continued use of arrest and ticket quota directives used predominantly in communities of color. Justice League NYC is an initiative conceived to advocate for criminal justice reform and police accountability. These instances of profiling via quotas from New York, to Baltimore to Ferguson, Missouri, illuminate the need for immediate reform. Justice League NYC is taking a stance with the brave officers who recognized the practice of bias within the NYPD and had the fortitude and bravery to stand against it. These officers appear to be the victims of retaliation for their efforts.

About Justice League NYC:

Justice League NYC is an initiative of The Gathering for Justice is a social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005. Led since 2010 by Executive Director Carmen Perez, The Gathering utilizes Kingian nonviolence as a social application for change and civic engagement. Justice League NYC is a task force of juvenile and criminal justice experts, advocates, artists and formerly incarcerated individuals. Our work includes leading policy initiatives for police accountability; bringing in individuals and groups from diverse communities to organize as a ‘family coalition’ in order to capitalize on our combined power and build the agenda for sustained black and brown liberation; being the catalyst for the re-introduction of federal legislation to end racial profiling and stop the militarization of law enforcement; engaging a serious and sustained effort for Raise the Age in NY State; and creating a blueprint – in the form of a substantive list of demands – for criminal justice redress and accountability for NY City and State.

Pinto, on the left, spoke about the mass incarceration problem taking place in this country, “THE REALITY IS, YOU CAN’T HAVE MASS INCARCERATION UNLESS YOU HAVE MASS CRIMINALIZATION” Policies and practices that are discriminatory like Broken Windows and stop and frisk and quotas. “In order for those policies to have legs on the street, it takes police willing to abide by those practices. The officers who are willing to do that”.

“We’ve heard that it’s only a few bad apples, seems to me that’s more like there’s only a FEW GOOD APPLES. TODAY WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER TO ALLOW THEIR VOICES TO BE HEARD, They’re putting themselves and their career on the line by standing out”.

Edwin Raymond takes the mic next greeting the media, “Good morning, I’ve been a cop for 8 years and for the last 8 years I’ve unfortunately witnessed this quota destroy lives”. On a National scale one of the things being advocated are “more minority officers”, The reason is to have a natural compassion for the community. “THIS IS COMPLETELY UNDERMINED BECAUSE of INHERENTLY RACIST POLICIES KNOWN AS QUOTA. When it comes to Mass Incarceration in NYC, the quota is at the root of it”.

“Myself and the other officers took an oath to uphold the Constitution. Unfortunately, WE’RE PROTECTING THE PEOPLE FROM THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF. We ask the people to support this fight because this isn’t for us, it’s for You. I’D BE A SERGEANT RIGHT NOW IF I WENT ALONG WITH THIS POLICY”.

“THE COMMISSIONER HAS DECIDED THAT THESE OFFICERS THAT WORK WITH HIM ARE NOT PART OF THE PEOPLE HE INTENDS TO PROTECT AND DEFEND. THAT, TO US, IS UNACCEPTABLE”.

Not only should there be accountability for the Officers but, there Must be accountability for Commissioner Bratton”.

Officer Polanco, and I don’t hesitate to call him Officer, said he started his fight back in 2008 with stop and frisk. “I was one of the few officers who testified under Judge Shira Scheindlin. When we started speaking out about stop and frisk we got the same reaction from commissioner Kelly that we got from Commissioner Bratton now, ‘This is Bullshit’. We were not trying to fight, we were trying to bring changes. We grew up in the community. WHAT WE’RE DOING TO OUR OWN PEOPLE IS NOT RIGHT. I’m not talking about criminals, THE QUOTA BRINGS PROBLEMS TO THE MOST VULNERABLE. When you put pressure on cops to come up with the numbers, they’re not going to Manhattan and choking somebody in the middle of the street, it’s the black, it’s the hispanic, it’s the LGBT community. WE GO FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE”.

“There was only One Frank Serpico. There were 16 thousand cops in the NYPD and they’re all crooked, they’re all taking money and you had one officer that tried to tell the department and he was not listened to by his own department”.

“To Mayor de Blasio, If your commissioner doesn’t want to listen to your cops, maybe you should. Mayor de Blasio benefits more than anyone from the stop and frisk scandal. THAT’S HOW HE GOT ELECTED, BY PROPOSING THE QUOTA THAT WE’RE STILL FACING”. Officer Derrick Waller was brief, saying he hoped some of the other officers didn’t have to put up with the harassment and threats. “Wish us luck”.

Graham Weatherspoon, “If a patient is Sick they must first admit they are sick in order to receive treatment. Many people in this country are living in a state of fear in this city and across the nation because of the color of their skin or of their economic status. COMMISSIONER BRATTON, IF QUOTAS DO NOT EXIST THEN, YOU NEED TO TERMINATE THOSE SUPERVISORS THAT ARE CALLING FOR QUOTAS TO BE MET”.

“The job of a police officer is to deter crime, LET ME REPEAT THAT, TO DETER THE CRIME. Not to catch the criminal. “THE NYC POLICE DEPT COST THE CITIZENS OF THIS CITY MORE THAN $1 BILLION IN LAWSUITS OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS. Money that could have gone to feeding the homeless, housing for the homeless.”

“This type of lawsuit supports, gives credence to, enlightens, put the focus on, when we speak about violations of civil rights. YOU CANNOT HAVE A QUOTA SYSTEM DISGUISED AS A PERFORMANCE SYSTEM AND NOT HAVE VIOLATIONS OF CITIZENS CIVIL RIGHTS. They go Hand in Hand, In order to make those #’s, in order to satisfy your ‘superiors’, there are some people who are going to be arrested who shouldn’t be arrested”.

His response was given by his attorney, “My client does not wish to engage in a war of words with his boss, Commissioner Bratton. But, for Commissioner Bratton to use profanity in addressing legitimate concerns of one of his employees, is extremely disrespectful and shows a callous disregard for the conditions under which these police officers are working”.

The conference was closed out by Rev Adolphus C. Lacey PhD of the Bethany Baptist Church, “We believe in justice and glad that we could create the space for you to come here while Edwin Raymond and others are able to share their story”. This is about awareness because if we think everything is normal, we’re in for a rude awakening, and that’s what we want to do. The call is to wake up, Things are not always as they seem”.