Below are accounts from New York City criminal court arraignments observed by PROP representatives.
Ending the Scourge of Dominoes:
NYPD cops arrest a 65 year old Latino for loitering — he was sitting in a park in Brooklyn playing dominoes. He’s cuffed & confined overnight. The arraignment judge releases him.
Cookies & Cherry Coke:
“I would like to offer to pay the court restitution of $3.78 for my client”, a vexed legal aid attorney says while placing a hand on her clients shoulder, “he needs to claim a bed at the [homeless] shelter tonight, or he will lose his bed”. The judge sends him back to the tombs. What was the charge against him? Stealing $3.78 of goods from a Manhattan Duane Reade, a Cherry Coke and a bag of cookies. He was a young black man, homeless and struggling with mental health issues, forced to steal food to survive. He was a defendant like other NYers that we see every week while court monitoring.
A PROP representative spoke with the lawyer briefly after her client was taken back into custody. She said he has a long history of mental health problems, and has been homelessness off & on during the past year. When asked what will come of his case, she said, “I will argue the case tomorrow with a different judge. I know I can keep him off Rikers, but I can’t get him his bed back, that’s gone. I always offer to pay restitution in cases like these,” she continued. “I know they will deny it, but I want to show how ridiculous the charge is.” She shook her head, looked toward the judge and said, “Have a nice night,” before going back to the front of the court to defend her next clients from similar low-level charges for hours to come.
A Lengthy ‘Criminal’ Record:
“It’s important to note in this case that the defendant has a lengthy criminal record,” the Staten Island ADA said as he tried to prevent a woman’s release from court. “She has 6 prior misdemeanors”. The case involved a woman, in financial straits, stealing Tide from a drug store. She had no money, and wanted the detergent to wash her clothes. NYPD police arrested her, and transported her to the criminal court building on Central Ave. The arrest was a part of a pattern for her — her ‘lengthy criminal record’ consisted entirely of petty larceny charges. Her rap sheet included stealing food, tampons, and other life necessities that she could not afford. As new charges mount, so do her chances of being jailed on Rikers. The court released her in this case, but with no aid, and no resolution in sight to the problem that she cannot afford to live in our city without breaking the law.
Trespassing:
An elderly black man walked unsteadily to the front of the courtroom to stand before the arraignment judge. He was hunched over, leaning on a cane. “Docket ending *** Penal Code 140.05, trespassing,” shouted a court officer. “He didn’t have anywhere else to sleep, so he slept in the lot, no harm was intended”, explained a Legal Aid attorney trying to get his clients charges dropped. The defendant is homeless, weary & sickly. On a cold night, he took refuge in a Manhattan lot, where a pre-war walk-up had once stood. NYPD approached officers arrested him. During his arraignment, he was so weak a chair had to be brought out for him to sit in; he was shaking the entire time he waited for the judge to decide his case. The judge released him, & two court officers helped him out of the courtroom .
Assaulted in Broad Daylight:
“A man tried to steal my phone in the park, and the [park] police stood there and watched. I walked up to them after yelling at them for just watching while someone tries to rob me…they look at me and say ‘we don’t even know if you’re a guy or a girl.’ They pulled on my waistband, laughing.” This account was part of the written statement of a black trans woman as read my her attorney in Manhattan criminal court. After the officers touched her, she pushed back, which led to the officers arresting her. Two park officers stood at the back of the court, smirking, likely knowing that whatever complaint was filed against them would go nowhere. The woman refused to plead guilty, as a plea would likely hurt the chances for success of her planned law suit against the officers who assaulted her in the park.
ANALYSIS: Police & Cars -
Based partly on what we observe during our court monitoring, we at PROP have growing concerns about an under the radar abusive #NYPD practice, the Department’s focus on policing so-called traffic related violations. On almost every visit to the arraignment parts in all 5 boroughs, we see defendants, virtually always black or brown NYers, who NYPD cops have arrested for driving with a suspended license or while under the influence. We often speak to the defendants after they leave the courtroom — the judge has released them in every case — & frequently they describe a bogus arrest.
Cops arrested them though they weren’t even driving — they were sitting in a parked car or were walking toward their parked car or, in one case, a man was behind the wheel while his car was being towed. When asked why cops pulled them over, they say that cops gave no reason or that cops will say that they didn’t use a turn signal or ran a stop sign, but the accused say that the charge wasn’t true, that they put the turn signal on, that they stopped at the stop sign.
We also know from the Department’s own numbers that cops issue an extraordinary number of summonses for moving traffic violations. Through August of this year, for example the NYPD has issued 699,636 such tickets — that’s 1,049,679 on an annual basis, or nearly 3,000 per day. Through August, 33,522 for tinted windows (about 140/day), for instance; 140,640 for disobeying traffic control device like a stop sign (586/day), or 60,214 for an improper turn (over 250/day).
Given these numbers & our court monitoring observations, we see these punitive interactions as a form of stop ‘n frisk tactics applied to NYers of color in their cars. It’s racist, without legitimate purpose & should stop.
If you are interested in becoming a court monitor, please contact PROP Senior Coordinator Luke Messina, at lukelmessina@gmail.
