US Police Under Attack Reports Of Authority Abuse: Racist Actions Against Teenagers To Handcuff An 8-Year-Old Child

Ilustrasi foto (Koshu Kunii / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The explosion of the 'Black Lives Matter' action opened up other cases involving police abuse, especially black people. In fact, some cases involve children.

An eight-year-old boy was reportedly handcuffed for carrying a stick. In addition, there was a complaint about an eleven-year-old black boy who was rummaged into his bag after shaking hands. There was also a 17 year old black boy pushed because of the backpack he was carrying.

The cases are just a few of the more recent cases of abuses by New York Police Department (NYPD) officials, according to a report by the Civil Complaints Review Board (CCRB). The CCRB report released Monday examined 112 fully investigated complaints involving youth in New York between January 2018 and June 2019.

On the whole, they illustrate the poor relationship between police and black youth. The existence of this bad relationship illustrates one reason why people protest against systemic racism in the police force today.

"Unfortunately, after years of witnessing the news of police abuses and possibly experiencing it ourselves, even young people among us are aware of the all too frequent tensions between police and civilians," said CCRB Chair Fred Davie in a statement.

"As the young New Yorkers took the lead in the call for change in our city after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others, it was time for the NYPD to reconsider how officers watched over our young people, handled differences in law enforcement, and committed themselves. for quick discipline when officers are involved in offenses, "added Davie.

According to the CCRB report, of the 112 complaints investigated involved young people;

1. As many as 29% were proven, which means that the crime actually occurred based on the abundance of evidence.

2. As many as 42% are unsubstantiated which means there is not enough evidence to determine whether an error occurred or not.

3. As many as 13% were released from punishment, meaning that the action occurred but the evidence is still lacking.

4. As many as 10% were baseless, meaning that the alleged crime did not occur.

Photo illustration of police and peaceful protesters (Rogerio / Unsplash)

The report also offers some recommendations for the NYPD to include age and race in the use of force. In a statement, the New York Police Department noted that in January, it launched a strategy to prevent and deal with youth crime.

"Top priority commissioner (Dermot) Shea has appointed the NYPD to rebuild, to do what we can to protect and serve children in New York," said NYPD spokeswoman Mary Frances O'Donnell.

"After careful review, we accept every CCRB recommendation that is thoughtful and constructive. Some of them are already in the implementation process and all will reinforce our new Youth Strategy," added O'Donnell.

The case the CCRB is currently investigating

In March 2018, a group of black and Hispanic boys aged 8 to 14 walked home, talking and laughing. Some of them played with sticks taken from the ground.

Meanwhile, on the sidewalk, several police cars were approaching. The officers got out of their car, one with the pistol, and ordered the children to lean against the wall. They complied and were all searched by police officers and no weapons were found.

In total, eight to 10 police cars and 10 to 16 officers responded to the incident. The lieutenant at the scene decided to take the 8 year old and 14 year old children to the police station and proceed with charges of misconduct after officers reported seeing children running with sticks.

The two boys were transferred there while being handcuffed and crying. Two officers said they stopped the group after receiving reports that a group of Hispanic men in their 20s carrying machetes and sticks was chasing and fighting against many residents, the report said. However, officers gave inconsistent statements about what the children were doing before they were stopped, including whether they had anything with them.

Another case involved an 11-year-old black boy who walked to meet his mother. While on the road, he met a group of grown men he knew. When the boy greeted one of the men with a hand high high, officers in plain clothes Anti-Crime got out of their vehicle and approached the group.

The grown men scattered. An officer approached the boy and asked his age, and then began to hold his upper body and waist and searched his bag. One observer told the officer he shouldn't detain anyone under 13, but one officer replied that drugs could be given to younger children. The officers then returned to their vehicles and left, the report said.

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source photo: Unsplash by Koshu Kunii