Tempers Flare at Police Forum

Charges of police brutality and racism in the New York Police Department dominated the discussion during the forum on policing in Harlem held last night at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building on 125th Street.

Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-Harlem, in conjunction with the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., hosted the event, which involved panelists from precincts 25, 26, 28, 32, and the precinct PSA 6.

Attendees stood up to recount their brushes with police brutality, racism, and being on the receiving end of violations of police protocol.

Chairman of Friends of Public Housing Residents Derek Norvell demanded psychological profiles of officers, particularly those who have returned from war. He suggested the use of "tranquilizers, rather than shooting someone 40 or 50 times." He then asked, "Are you practicing on targets that look like us?"

State Sen. Eric Adams, D-Brooklyn, cautioned against selective outrage to violence.

"I gave my entire law enforcement career to deal with issues of violence ... a mother doesn't cry any differently if her son is killed be a police officer or drug dealer-there is no consolation," Adams said. "You can't start using useless, frivolous, idiotic rhetoric ... We've got to hold the police responsible, but also hold ourselves responsible."

Certain audience members made liberal use of racial slurs, referring to white cops as "crackers." This caused discomfort among some panelists.

When asked what was being done about the "mentality" among officers that violate protocol, chief Douglas Zeigler of the NYPD community affairs unit acknowledged that there were "bad apples" on the force. "I'm not going to b.s. anybody-there are some officers that need to be controlled," he said.

The panelists explained to audience members how to file a complaint against a police officer who has violated protocol: first get his badge number, then call the precinct, and ask to speak to a supervisor. If the officer is in plain clothes, panelists advised to get the license plate number of his vehicle. Some of the panelists offered their direct phone numbers to community members as a line of communication for the next time an incident occurs.

In response to accusations from audience members, some panelists said there was no racism in the police force. But Adams disagreed. "When we deny racism, it's like an alcoholic waking up on the floor every day and denying he has a drinking problem," he said.

Attendees also asked a few questions on the harassment of vendors, housing incidents, and even seemingly innocuous issues like noise pollution.

Wright echoed the calls of many of his constituents to institute cultural sensitivity training for police. "I personally think they should be taught ... African history ... Latino history ... to better understand the constituents of this city," he said

Harlemite Sharan Salaam said that while "we need diversity ... right now we need a few good people, whatever color they are."

After the forum, many attendees conveyed a sense of futility but said they wanted to believe constructive change would come after more forums like this one.

"It didn't go anywhere," Jean Church, age 71, said, "but I think it's a beginning."

"This has been a very honest dialogue, and we shall have follow-ups-these are not the last of these conversations," Wright said.