Paul Butler is a law professor
at Georgetown University and a former federal prosecutor. He is the author of
"Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice.''
APRIL 9, 2013
To show how much power the
police have, my cop friend plays this game called “pick a car.” I’m in the
backseat of his squad car on a “ride-along “ and I select a car, any car, and
he finds a reason to stop it.
The N.Y.P.D. uses this kind of
extraordinary discretion to harass African-American and Latino men, Muslims and
minority gay teenagers hanging out in the West Village – basically groups other
than middle class white people. These practices are authorized by a police
chief who values displays of force over common courtesy, and a mayor who
presumes to know what is better for blacks than they know for themselves.
Society has most to fear from
armed agents who feel unaccountable. That police say they need no oversight is
evidence they do.
Of course the police need oversight.
Most urgently, young men of color need somebody to protect them from the
police.
Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of
federal district court recently found that a police training video about stop
and frisk “misstated the law” and that police officers in the Bronx treated
innocent citizens “with hostility” when they simply wanted to know why they
were being detained.
A free society has the most to
fear from armed agents who feel unaccountable to citizens. The fact that the
police say they do not require oversight is even more evidence that they do.
What is police leadership afraid that close inspection will reveal? And how can
a mayor who thinks the city has the responsibility to stop people from drinking
too much soda think that the city does not have the responsibility to ensure
that the police obey the law when they enforce the law?
I was a public corruption
prosecutor with the Department of Justice.The Federal Bureau of Investigation
has inspectors with whom I worked closely. I believe that this level of
oversight helps the bureau maintain its status as the world’s best law
enforcement agency.
One of the strategies that
N.Y.P.D. credits with reducing crime is deploying officers to the neighborhoods
that have the most crime. The idea is that when people know they are being
watched, and there are consequences for poor practices, people will be more
likely to do the right thing. An inspector general would have the same
deterrent effect on police misconduct and poor practices. What is good enough
for the citizens of New York is good enough for the N.Y.P.D.