By Frederick Bernas, CNN
New York (CNN) - Rather than celebrating Father's Day on Sunday afternoon, Horace Russell marched with several thousand people to take a stand against the New York Police Department's controversial "stop and frisk" policy.
"I feel it every single day, practically," said Russell, who works as a teacher in the Bronx. "I've been pulled over and pushed against fences, frisked, but have never been arrested."
Russell's story sounded familiar to many of Sunday's marchers, who want to see action from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly - either by abolishing or reforming stop-and-frisk.
Last year, nearly 685,000 people were stopped by officers in cases that ended with no meaningful charge, according to police department statistics. Of these, 87% were African-American or Latino, the police department says.
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Filed under: Black in America • How we look • Latino in America • Race • Social justice |
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The birth of National Socialism and the Gestapo State Police in Germany were partly brought about by a growing, paranoid, ever-more irate tendency of the German people to blame each other (Jews, Romani, immigrants, Dada journalists, the handicapped, socialists, gays etc.) and the nations around them for the socioeconomic strife brought about by the expenditure and sanctions of WWI and the Great Depression. Hitler and the NAZI party became the spokespeople for this frame of mind, and soon the Reich was dictating whom you could marry, what you could do or say and whether you were worthy to roam free unhindered or keep your life based on inherited traits you had no say in when you were born. Is this the direction we're headed? Are the NYPD to become the first American Sicherheitspolizei and is Arizona to become the future East Prussia of the 1930s?
I stop and frisk'ed this chick once – got slapped. Was I wrong?
Switch to Fox, who cares? Besides, you're obviously lacking intelligence if you think CNN owes you freedom of speech – that's a right granted to you by the government. You can go say it all day long, but CNN still has the right to delete it.
This law is a total violation of sure process. It better not spread to my city, but Denver does love to pick up NYC fascist laws, like there outrageous smoking laws. Former governor Owens should have been sh ot
Amerika – Freedom here is total illusion.
Is this article related to the "50 shades of grey" blog?
There will be direct responses back on Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. They are responsible for the conduct of those under their command, and the people uio