Police arrested and tasered a youth at the 111th St. station in October (Photo: Twitter Sen. Jessica Ramos)
Jan. 13, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The New York Attorney General announced today that she has launched an investigation to see whether the NYPD has been targeting communities of color when it comes to fare evasion.
Attorney General Letitia James has sent a letter to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea requesting that he provide data and various reports that may indicate whether officers have exhibited racial biases in arresting or summonsing people for turnstile jumping.
James noted that current and former NYPD officers have given sworn statements alleging that the department had an unofficial policy of targeting minorities for fare evasion through to at least 2015.
She noted that this alleged discrimination may still be continuing today as the groups are overrepresented in recent fare evasion violation data.
Black and Hispanic New Yorkers made up nearly 90 percent of the arrests for fare evasion between October 2017 and June 2019, according to James. The two groups account for a little over 50 percent of the city’s population.
“We’ve all read the stories and seen the disturbing videos of men, women, and children being harassed, dragged away, and arrested by officers in our city’s subway system, which is why we are launching an investigation into this deeply troublesome conduct,” James said in a statement.
In October, a photo of a teen who had been tasered by police at a Corona subway station went viral when it was tweeted by State Sen. Jessica Ramos with the caption “All of this for $2.75?!?!”
The NYPD was criticized for the use of force, but the department said officers were responding to report of the teens threatening one another with knives.
Last month, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Board approved the hiring of 500 additional transit police officers to crack down on fare evasions, despite pushback from local lawmakers.
James said her office won’t think twice about using any investigative means necessary if the NYPD fails to cooperate.
“While we are hopeful that the NYPD will cooperate thoroughly with this investigation, we will not hesitate to use every investigative tool at our disposal to protect subway riders and the people of this city,” she said.
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson applauded James for launching the investigation.
“For decades, law enforcement has disproportionately impacted communities of color and as we reform our criminal justice system we need to know if this practice is continuing with fare evasion,” Johnson said.
James Letter by Queens Post on Scribd
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19 Comments
GUESS WHAT, MAN DESCREATES ALTAR DURING SUNDAY MASS IN GREENPOINTE BROOKLYN and he was also a MINORITY!!!!
OMG how do you even find a racist angle on this one, unless you’re REALLY trying.
Well don’t they?
Perhaps they would not be targeted if they kept their noses clean to begin with!
Hey 10th Grader- i can send you fresh footage everyday if you want?
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/police-search-for-man-who-randomly-threw-metal-chain-at-off-duty-officers-face-in-subway/2260028/
Incoherent and misinformed doesn’t even begin to cover this comment’s, and author’s, problems. What is this fallacy you are on about with minorities committing 90% of the crimes? We are still majority white, hence the term “minority” applied to non-whites in this country, and whites commit a majority of the crime, as discussed in the FBI’s crime statistics. But those facts aren’t convenient for your argument, are they (do I hear “Build the Wall”)? I can’t even begin to dissect the poor analogies you try and construct at the end. What were you thinking, or drinking, when you shifted from an investigation of over-policing minorities (what the article is about), to affirmative action in professional sports and the FDNY?
Stand up – You accept crime when it’s your boy stealing two million dollars from a charity set up to assist our veterans and Letitia is willing to accept crime if the perp is from what she views as her team. You’re both actually a bird of a feather. Give yourself another thousand thumbs up.
We are so screwed!!!! What is happeninggg?
The top law enforcement officer in the state is siding with lawlessness and criminals. Defense of the ones committing the crimes and questioning the police because they are doing their jobs just because the people disobeying the laws are minorities. They get arrested for beating the fare. Why pay $2.75 when they think they can get in for free, until they get busted. Pay your f&%king fare like I do every day and you won’t get arrested for fare beating…. I am tired of this who can understand this everything is backwards, are we living in an upside city. All recent attacks on Jews were by whom? Go to the video tape….. Where by Minorities! our Mayor and Leticia James are defending criminals. This is crazy….
tish James ignoring the assaults on women by men who already have records and are then released
James throwing mud and playing the race card while crime creeps up
Why should I buy a metro card if I can jump the turnstile ?
She is seriously stuck on race
The popcorn comment is so totally cliche at this point.
you can’t deny it’s entertaining
Why waste your time on a investigation when we all know that the NYPD continues to target minorities on the subways and our neighborhoods.
Letitia James is as useless as the day is long.
Thats is Lelitia James, keep firing more mud around. what ever happened to the investigation of the NYS Association of Black & Puerto Rican Legislators Caucus that instead of giving scholarship money to minorities were spending it on lavish parties? and true to form when all else fails go after Trump. but how is that going? not too well i would say as you are on to your next ridiculous arguments. Just because minorities are 50% of the population they should not be committing 90% of the crime even if they are guilty or not. Imagine if we applied those metrics to all aspects of everyday life. Lets start with the NBA and have short white guys playing baseball even though the cant touch the bottom of the net. Ice hockey, don’t see to many minorities skating around the ring so lets get that evened out. I think we have tried to balance out the fire dept but not much luck there no fault to the exam or the physical requirements. Letitia- its time to stand up and be counted instead of passing blame
Why not study to see if minorities are the ones responsible for majority of the crime?
But anytime I saw on 46th Street (actually, the entrance on 47th) fare evaders, they fit in the steriotype of a minority.
Anyway, it would be better that the police patrols around Qns Blvd, we need more cops on the streets rather than comtroling the turnstiles
Maybe they are being targeted because they are committing the crimes.
Sure, and the feds target Italians when they investigate the mafia.?
pass the popcorn