Police Reform Project Monitors courts Alleged NYPD Racism

	Dear Friends: PROP continues its range of activities/strategies aimed at ending the NYPD's abusive & discriminatory quota-driven "broken windows" policing: Court Monitoring  Here are summary findings from our most recent court visits documenting the blatantly racist effects of the NYPD's current arrest practices: 4/15 Manhattan Court: ** Out of 11 cases, 11, or 100%, were people of color. ** Out of 11 cases, 11, or 100%, walked out of the court room.  ** Charges included: possession of marijuana in the 5th degree; suspended license; possession of a weapon in the 4th degree; disorderly conduct; & theft of services (farebeating). 4/7 Bronx Court: ** Out of 26 cases, 25, or 96.2%, were people of color. ** Out of 26 cases, 22, or 84.6%, walked out of the court room. ** Charges included: open alcohol container, disorderly conduct, suspended license, possession of marijuana in the 5th degree, theft of services (farebeating). 3/24 Brooklyn Court: ** Out of 20 cases, 17, or 85%, were people of color. ** Out of 20 cases, 20, or 100%, walked out of the court room. ** Charges included: suspended license; open alcohol container; possession of marijuana in the 5th degree; loud car exhaust. Stories Here are vignettes that PROP has recently written up as part of our determined effort to demonstrate the harm that "broken windows" policing inflicts on New Yorkers of color every day: ** Bronx court 4/7/16 -- Officers approached a Latino man late at night while he pumped gas into his car. They searched his car without asking permission or explaining why. The officers turned up nothing in the vehicle, but did find a marijuana cigarette in the pocket of the man's friend who was sitting in the car. They arrested the 2 men, charging the car's owner with marijuana possession & driving with a suspended license even though he had no drugs in his possession & his driver's license was in good order. The man pled guilty to disorderly conduct, a "violation" not a "crime". When asked why he pled guilty when he had done nothing wrong, he replied that he couldn't afford the time involved in returning to court multiple times. ** Man court/4/14/16 -- Officers arrested a middle-aged black man, charging him with "theft of services" or farebeating. The man refused to accept a lesser plea offer -- the judge released him with a date assigned for him to return for a bench trial. When asked why he didn't accept the plea deal, the man said that he hadn't done anything wrong. Here's his account: he helped a handicapped man who used a walker down the steps at the subway station at 116th Street & Lexington Ave. He then swiped himself in & saw that the handicapped man was having trouble getting his walker through the turnstile. So he helped the man by opening & letting him through one of the emergency gates. The officers then arrested him for farebeating. ** Man court/4/14/16 -- Officers arrested a Latino man, charging him with possession of a weapon in the 4th degree. They had pulled him over & searched his car without an explanation & found a pocket knife in the vehicle's glove compartment. Swipe It Forward Day - On a day in May, PROPers & their allies will carry out targeted actions at 2 subway stations, one in Manhattan & one in the Bronx, where many farebeating arrests take place & swipe people in. We will distribute hand-outs explaining that these arrests are now the highest category of arrests that the NYPD conducts -- over 29,000 last year, 92% people of color -- & that these arrests are one major way that the City & the NYPD criminalize low-income New Yorkers of color. People interested in supporting this activity should contact Bob Gangi directly via email or phone. Please feel free to be in touch with your questions or comments. Also, we welcome your participation in any of PROP's upcoming events/activities. Many thanks for your interest & support. Onward, Robert Gangi Director Police Reform Organizing Project Cell: 917-327-7648 bgangi@propnyc.org Thomas Juliano Project Associate Police Reform Organizing Project Cell: 347-308-3117 Thomas.F.Juliano@hotmail.com Maesha Meto Project Coordinator Police Reform Organizing Project Cell: 347-698-0599 maeshasamiha@gmail.com For those wishing to make a financial contribution to our work, you may donate through the paypal link on the bottom of our homepage, or send a check (payable to our tax-exempt fiscal sponsor, United Social Services, Inc.) to: Police Reform Organizing Project 168 West 86th St. #4B NYC, NY 10024		UPCOMING EVENTS   Court Monitoring Project PROP's next court visit will take place on Thurs, April 28th. We will meet at 10AM in front of the Bronx criminal court building at 215 East 161st Street. Interested people should contact Thomas Juliano, PROP's Project Associate, at 347-308-3117 & plan to spend at least one hour sitting in the courtroom observing & recording the proceedings. Monthly PROP Meeting Thursday, May 19th, at 6:00 pm at the Ethical Culture Society,  2 West 64th St. We will gather at our regular monthly session, open to all interested parties, to discuss PROP updates & future strategies. Art Against Broken Windows Art Show Tuesday evening, June 21stat the El Barrio Artspace at 215 East 99th Street. We seek art pieces mainly by youth. Interested young people should submit their paintings, sketches, poetry, spoken word pieces, calligraphy, music and dances -- anything that constitutes art -- to PROP's Project Coordinator Maesha Meto at maeshasamiha@gmail.com. People wanting to help plan and organize this important event should also contact Maesha Link to Director Email Link to Twitter Link to Facebook