Posted on 07/28/2013 7:11:41 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Speaking to a black church in Brooklyn this morning, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson linked the New York Police Department with George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who was recently acquitted of murder after shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager, in Florida.
Thompson said he didn't want to quibble with the legalities of the case, or whether the jury was correct in acquitting Zimmerman. Instead, he focused his remarks on a broader problem facing young men of color.
Thompson said the justice system "failed Trayvon. It failed my son. It failed America."
"How did the system fail? How did the system fail? Here in New York City, we have institutionalized Mr. Zimmerman's suspicion with a policy that all but requires our police officers that treat our young black and Latino men with suspicion; to stop them and frisk them because of the color of their skin."
Thompson, the only black candidate running for mayor, spoke at a non-denominational church on Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights. His wife, Elsie McCabe, who has increased her visibility over the past week, sat in the front row.
Thompson is not the first candidate to link the NYPD with Zimmerman. On July 15, John Liu, who succeeded Thompson as comptroller and is now running against him for mayor, released a statement saying, "the same mindset that allowed Zimmerman to believe he was justified in following an innocent young black man permits the NYPD to justify the targeting of black and Hispanic youth in its stop-and-frisk operation."
After his remarks inside the church, Thompson told reporters "the president's comments inspired me to" talk today about the Martin case. Last week, Obama said Martin "could have been me 35 years ago."
I asked Thompson how he can disparage the NYPD by comparing it to Zimmerman, but also praise the overall performance of police commissioner Ray Kelly. In February, Thompson told NBC New York that Kelly has "done an excellent job."
Thompson said he acknowledged crime has gone down under Kelly, but said he has always considered Kelly the "architect of an abusive stop-and-frisk policy here in New York."
Thompson was also asked about Anthony Weiner, whose campaign manager reportedly resigned this weekend, after Weiner admitted last week that he continued having sexual conversations online following his resignation from Congress. Thompson reiterated his call for Weiner to drop out or the race, and said his continued candidacy was distracting from important issues. When a reporter asked if the campaign was becoming a circus, Thomspson said, "That would be kind."
Race baiting has gone into “double down” mode these days. It’s become quite popular again. The new “next big thing”. Especially for two bit politicians.
So in other words any time anyone thinks a black person is suspicious, no matter who or where they are, it is all the same. I am sick of all these racist idiots.
One more race-baiter. After Weiner, I thought the NYC mayoral race couldn’t sink any lower. Wrong. What an utter travesty and disgrace.
Wasn’t it a few weeks ago Bloomberg said that blacks were getting away with much more than whites?
The sooner Obama is arrested, the sooner we can quit talking about this nonsense.
Well, my union backed the wrong Bill. Hope di blasio is doing better.
Even John Liu, with his ties to Asian gangsters, is looking better and better. I just LOVE how the bull dyke Christine Quinn is trying to capitalize on the Weiner situation by trumpeting, “Weiner is not qualified to be Mayor, and this shows it.” Oh, and SHE, slush fund queen and the one who threw over term limits to allow Bloommonster a 3rd devastating term is saying this? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...
If groups of white utes hung out at subway stops, pants around their thighs, loitering at dark corners, etc, waiting for unaccompanied people to stroll by, they too would probably get the attention of New York’s finest. I don’t see the discrimination here, just better judgment and behavior on the part of some groups of people.
Today’s version of West Side story just involves actors who look a little different. Tomorrow’s version could be Arabic actors.
I AM SO SICK *SICK* of “the system failed” and “justice for Trayyyyvon” and “the unarmed teenager who was shot” He got his justice. That unarmed teenager was savagely attacking an armed man and ....well...that’s what happens when people can defend themselves. I’m TIRED of all blacks being victims and never held to accountability. Did you hear me???? TIRED
I’m tired of even talking about it. It’s most BLACKS that can’t move past this, not most whites.
>> Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson
Screw you, Thompson. Neither NYPD nor Zimmerman deserve your idiotic, pandering tripe.
;-\
This is from de Blasio’s campaign site:
“Fighting For Meaningful Stop-and-Frisk Reform. Bill de Blasio has used the office of the Public Advocate to extensively study how the tactic of stop-question-frisk is applied across New York. De Blasio initiated a report that revealed troubling racial disparities. Data shows that police stopped 49 white New Yorkers for every weapon taken off the streets, compared to 71 Latino New Yorkers, and 93 black New Yorkers stopped for every weapon yielded. This information strongly suggests racial profiling is used in stop-and-frisk, which sows seeds of distrust and animosity in communities of color toward the police. Reinforcing this concern, testimony in the Floyd v. New York case suggested that NYPD brass requires quotas even in the absence of suspicion of crime. When communities in New York feel that the police officers are antagonists rather than partners in keeping their neighborhoods safe, it puts residents and officers at risk. Bill de Blasio has pushed for real reforms in stop-and-frisk by organizing communities and calling on Mayor Bloomberg to immediately end the overuse and abuse of this tactic. That’s why he has called for new leadership at the NYPD, an inspector general, and a strong racial profiling bill.”
http://www.billdeblasio.com/issues/crime-fighting-public-safety
Non-denominational church: a social club calling itself a church for the tax exemption.
This, I expect from a Dem. I was wondering if he was citing Zimmerman, too, for quick headlines.
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