Tag Archives: public-advocate

This is one of those situations where even if you think something, you are not suppose to say it out loud. We will just call this Raymond’s “teachable moment.” Raymond Kelly Says Blacks Commit 75 Percent Of Violent Crimes According to NY Daily News Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly credited the controversial stop-and-frisk tactic for helping to push New York’s crime rate to record lows. In a television interview, New York’s top cop defended his department’s use of the crime fighting tool and blasted critics who say it targets a disproportionate number of blacks and Latinos. “The stark reality is that crime happens in communities of color,” Kelly told “Nightline” co-anchor Bill Weir Wednesday. “About 70% to 75% of the people described as committing violent crimes — assault, robbery, shootings, grand larceny — are described as being African-American. “The percentage of people who are stopped is 53% African-American,” he continued. “So really, African-Americans are being understopped in relation to the percentage of people being described as being the perpetrators of violent crime.” The commissioner also countered allegations by a Brooklyn teenager that aggressive “proactive policing” like stop-and-frisk creates divisions between communities and police. “When things like this happen, there’s no trust,” said Kasim Walters, 17, of Flatbush. “We are trying to save his life,” Kelly responded. “And we are trying to save the life of other young people who are disproportionately victimized.” The “Nightline” segment also touched on the fatal shooting of Brooklyn teen Kimani Gray by police in March and featured comments by City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn), a stop-and-frisk critic. The city Health Department reported this week that gun deaths in the city dropped nearly a third from 2000 to 2011. Kelly’s comments come during a lengthy federal trial on stop-and-frisk and a day after Mayor Bloomberg hammered his potential successors for criticizing the NYPD tactic. City Controller John Liu has described stop-and-frisk as racial profiling and called for its end, while other mayoral wanna-bes have said it needs to be reformed. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, two other Democratic contenders, have also been vocal in their support for a bill that would create an inspector general to oversee the NYPD. The federal class-action lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights against stop-and-frisk has entered its seventh week of trial. The trial is expected to conclude May 16. Hate to break it to you Raymond, crimes happen in whitey’s part of the neighborhood too. Getty

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For Discussion: NYC Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly Says “70 to 75 Percent Of People Committing Violent Crimes Are African American”