Recently, I was reading on a friend’s FB wall about another example of police officers, overstepping the boundaries of “Protect And Serve” and into the realm of “Abuse and Exploit”! Read a little here:
Quinshon Shingles (pictured) a rising rapper who claims New York Police Department (NYPD) officers entered his aunt’s apartment without a warrant, handcuffed him, and forced him to rap for his release has won a $7,500 settlement in the case, the New York Daily News reports.
In her comment, my friend asked the question:
…there seems to be a disproportionate amount of Caucasian people in law enforcement in policing minority neighborhoods. What if WE (as minorities) apply for these jobs and do these jobs... will this type of abuse still be there?
So What Does STYLEZ Think?
I would LOVE to believe that racially match-making police officers to their assigned communities would aid in reducing some of the excessive violence, exploitation and corruption, HOWEVER, I have seen first hand, black-on-black, Latino-on-Latino and White-on-White offenses occur between Law Enforcement and Citizens they are charged with "Protecting and Serving"!
I don't believe anything will quell these offenses besides ensuring proper psychiatric evaluations are used in the selection of Law Enforcement officers, including evaluating their anger management, coping skills and their ability to handle the pressures and ills of policing society! Unfortunately, that alone would probably reduce most police forces to bare bones staff!
Secondly, it will take one other simple action on the part of the Criminal Justice system when it comes to handling the arbitration and remediation of the offences... ACCOUNTABILITY! The day you make Law Enforcement officers accountable for their deeds and actions, across the board and no exceptions, is the day you start to reign in some (not all of course) of the ills that Law Enforcement commit against the public! At this point, they get away with murder, and have no reason to feel responsible for their actions! And that has got to stop!
More on Mr. Shingles story just further reveals and supports my point, if we don’t hold them account, Law Enforcement will continue to be corrupt and exploitive:
N.Y.C. Pays Settlement To Handcuffed Man Forced To Rap For Release
Mar 26, 2014 By Hannington Dia
Shingles, better known as “Sauce Da Boss,” alleged in his suit that officers David Grieco and Joseph Patton entered the East New York apartment to question a suspect. They eventually cuffed him and told him to craft some “spits and bars,” and if they liked his lyrics, they would release him.
Shingles claimed the encounter killed his desire to perform onstage.
According to Shingles’ suit, Grieco and Patton fooled the building’s superintendent in to giving them a duplicate set of keys to enter the apartment.
Grieco and other officers from the 75th Precinct have been under investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau for allegations, including stealing jewelry and illegal apartment searches. Grieco is also named in 12 federal and state lawsuits for civil rights violations.
In its response to the suit, the city denied Shingles’ claims. “It does not appear that either plaintiff was arrested… there will be very few police documents relevant to this matter,” Assistant Corporation CounselQiana Smith-Williams said in court papers. Despite this stance, the city continued the suit without any depositions. They claim no wrongdoing in the settlement.
