Caribbean legislators outraged over racist comments on Facebook

NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean legislators here have expressed outraged over racist comments posted on the social network, Facebook, by some New York City police officers after being assigned to work at the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade in Brooklyn in early September.



On Monday, the New York Times reported that officers maligned paradegoers at the annual event, calling them “animals” and “savages,” among other names.



“I am outraged by the Facebook posts from some of New York City's police officers regarding the West Indian American Day Parade,” US Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).



Clarke, who represents the predominantly Caribbean 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn, said the Facebook posts “illustrate that, unfortunately, some NYPD (New York Police Department) officers harbour a sick, disdainful and bigoted perception of the very communities they are sworn to protect and serve.



Clarke said that it is “clear that this has harmful implications for all people living in communities across Brooklyn.



“The bottom line is, these officers through their Facebook group, have done more to set back the police and community relations gained over the past two decades. Simply put, it undermines the reputation of the NYPD.”



Clarke has called on Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to launch a “thorough and full investigation of “this Facebook group, remove and reassign any officers who may be assigned to precincts in Central Brooklyn and hold these individuals accountable for, at minimum, their breach of the public trust.”



Bloomberg’s spokesman, Stu Loeser, in a statement said, the “Police Department is investigating and will handle the matter appropriately, as they always do.



If the comments reported are accurate and from the officers, they are completely unacceptable.”



Grenadian American New York City Councilman Jumaane D. Williams, who was unlawfully arrested at the parade, said the report does not surprise him, “based on the growing avalanche of these stories coming from every corner of New York City.



“Yet, Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly have maintained their deafening silence towards this issue. Neither of them is willing to admit there is a systemic problem with the culture of the NYPD,” he said.



“They both have insisted that each case is a bad apple here or there; what we now have is a bumper crop of bad apples. We have a bushel of bad apples,” added Williams, who represents the 45th Council District in Brooklyn.



“What concerns me is that the racist language used here matches up with racist NYPD policies, such as stop, question and frisk. It really underscores the crisis facing communities of more color in this city. They have every right to express their concern that they are not being defended by local police officers, but rather are under attack,” Williams said.



Williams’ Caribbean colleague in the City Council, Haitian Councilman Dr. Mathieu Eugene said he was “deeply disappointed” by the police’s postings.



“The words and remarks used by the police officers were offensive, disrespectful and insulting to all people from the Caribbean and everyone who believes in human dignity and respect,” said Dr. Eugene, representative for the 40th Council District in Brooklyn.



“Police officers have a duty to protect our public safety but also a responsibility to treat all people with respect and decency. These remarks were not only offensive but (they) also undermine the noble spirit of being New Yorkers: respecting the diversity of others regardless of their religious, racial or ethnic background.



“On behalf of the many people from the Caribbean I proudly serve, I would like to express my outrage about the remarks made,” Dr. Eugene said.

New York State Assemblyman Jamaican Nick Perry said he, too, was outraged by the remarks.

“What is shocking is that the officers are callous enough to post publicly on social networking sites,” said the representative for the 58th Assembly District in Brooklyn, who is also Deputy Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly and Chairman of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators.



“It’s time that Mayor Bloomberg and those with administrative authority over the NYPD awake from their state of denial and deal with this monstrous problem of racial bias that infects much of the work that’s done each day by our police department. When we read of these racist comments, so shamelessly posted for all to view, it’s impossible for the mayor and police commissioner to even try to explain the gross racial disparity in their stop and frisk statistics,” Perry said.



The NYPD said it is conducting an investigation into the matter.