Atlantic.com: ‘Stop and Frisk’ May Be Working\u2014But Is It Racist? by Jesse Alejandro Cottrell:<\/p>\n
New York’s policy might indeed be reducing gun violence. But residents aren’t sure it’s worth the cost.<\/p>\n
“I just got stopped like two blocks ago,” said a frustrated Harlem teenager to the two police officers who approached him. <\/p>\n
This is the first recorded audio of a New York City “stop and frisk” recorded surreptitiously by a 16-year-old brown-skinned high schooler identified only as “Alvin.” Soon after, the encounter escalates into shouting. <\/p>\n
“Why are you carrying an empty book bag?” the police ask Alvin. <\/p>\n
“Because I had my hoodie in there. It was cold.” <\/p>\n
“You want me to smack you?” <\/p>\n
“Why you gonna smack me?” <\/p>\n
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? Shut your fucking mouth.”<\/p>\n
Quick clicks of tightening handcuffs are heard on the recording as Alvin frantically asks, “What am I getting arrested for?” <\/p>\n
One of the policemen responds, “For being a fucking mutt.” <\/p>\n
“That’s against the law, being a mutt?” Alvin asks. <\/p>\n
“I will break your fucking arm off right now,” the policeman answers.<\/p>\n
The recording, which surfaced earlier this year on The Nation’s website, enraged civil rights activists already demanding the overhaul of Stop and Frisk, a New York City Police Department program that has led to the stops and searches of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, most of whom are black or Latino, every year. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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