12 JANUARY 21, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Bending toward justice
As we celebrate the life and
legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., we are reminded once
more that we have miles to go to fulfi ll
his dream of equality for all.
That reminder came in the form
of a lawsuit that New York state Attorney
General Letitia James filed
against New York City and the NYPD
over police brutality that occurred
during last summer’s George Floyd/
Black Lives Matter protests.
In her extensive case, James outlined
that too many of the offi cers on
patrol during the demonstrations
simply went too far — from bashing
people with batons, to pepper-spraying
individuals without provocation,
to “kettling” marchers on the street,
sealing them in a perimeter and leading
to standoff s.
In a much more damning light, many
offi cers seemed to target individuals
based on the color of their skin. One
Black protester, Andrew Smith, said
an offi cer walked past several white
marchers, pulled down his mask and
doused his face with pepper spray,
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New York state Attorney General Letitia James fi led a lawsuit against New York City and the NYPD over police
brutality that occurred during last summer’s George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests. Photo by Dean Moses
though Smith said he did nothing to
provoke such a reaction.
As news of the lawsuit hit, Mayor
Bill de Blasio and the NYPD came out
in defense of their actions. Additionally,
they endorsed recommendations
previously made following probes by
James’ offi ce in the summer, and the
city’s Department of Investigation last
month.
They repeated once more a commitment
to reforming policing, but
argued that the lawsuit James fi led
won’t bring about reform any faster.
For years, we’ve heard promise after
promise of corrective measures at
the NYPD to end police brutality and
racial injustice — yet both problems
persist today.
It took a federal court order for
the NYPD to fi nally stop employing
“stop-and-frisk” tactics. That also
brought about the renewed approach
to community policing which kept
crime down while improving policecommunity
relations.
Under James’ reasoning, it might
take another federal court order to
fi nally get the NYPD to change its
protest response tactics. But why let
it get to that point?
The NYPD should work in concert
with James’ offi ce to settle the case
and implement the reforms needed
to keep future protests orderly, and
all protesters and police offi cers safe.
It’s not an impossible objective to
achieve, provided we work in cooperation
with one another — and remind
ourselves, as Dr. King said, that “The
arc of the moral universe is long, but
it bends toward justice.”
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