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Ignoring for the moment that the union certainly wouldn't allow such firings this also seems like a 1st amendment issue. What does the court have to say about expressions of speech in this context?
The military forbids its members from making political statements while in uniform. The police should probably have the same rule. If you want to campaign for/against someone, do it out of uniform.
On the other hand, when the mayor shows up at a police funeral to give a speech while the press is there, that's clearly a political statement. It doesn't seem fair to use the police as props (implying their support) while you have a rule saying they can't make a statement in reply.
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This is standard fare for any police department ever. It took me about 4 months to get my phone back from the NYPD, which was fun. I love it when white people are shocked by their first arrest, because it (unfortunately) means something might get done. The system sucks. Now please scare other white people about it.
"I love it when white people ..." It's unclear to me why race has anything to do with this. Are you implying that you expect non-white people to handle "their first arrest" more casually, as if it is something they are familiar with and know will happen? If we really want things to improve, we need to stop complaining about how "white people don't see how bad it is for the rest of us." Focus on what we have in common…
Swaths of people go through this regularly or are targeted and treated, much, much worse than this guy for the sole virtue of being the wrong race. Somehow, many white people, especially those in the upper class, never have to see this injustice ever.
There's a reason MLK's strategy during the civil rights movement worked. It inconvenienced or scared white people into seeing the injustice of the system they are a part of and control.
Police brutality and injustice is a side of America we are privileged to be mostly excluded from. When it becomes our problem, the system at least attempts to correct itself.
As an aside, for many people I know, the whole police brutality meme really started brewing when it became common knowledge that cops can come into your house and shoot your dogs. It doesn't and didn't matter that has been going on for decades to those of the wrong race or religion, often with deadly consequences.
I have a really basic question: What crime was she being charged with? Protesting?
Have you considered that reading the article might give you an answer to this question?
"My arresting officer walked me out the door and down the street past the barricade, where there were volunteers from New York Lawyers Guild waiting to provide information on legal resources, as well as donuts and coffee." That must've been a sight of relief. What a horrible experience everyone had to go through. This is nothing short of intimidation tactic.
Do you think turf wars start with competing law-firms over that spot?
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When they expressed insubordination by turning their backs on the Mayor, that signalled to me that they have no respect for authority. This is exactly the kind of people that do not belong on a police force. I can't imagine why they weren't all fired. They certainly don't deserve any of the respect that they get, nor their pensions.
What? They are allowed to express their right to free speech and expression as well, just as the protestors should be able to.
Free speech does not insulate you from reasonable consequences of that speech.
"My arresting officer walked me out the door and down the street past the barricade, where there were volunteers from New York Lawyers Guild waiting to provide information on legal resources, as well as donuts and coffee." That must've been a sight of relief. What a horrible experience everyone had to go through. This is nothing short of intimidation tactic.
I don't know how I feel about that. I mean on the one hand, it feels like ambulance chasing, but on the other, they're providing the exact thing everyone leaving those cells needed. Food, drink, legal advice. Do you think turf wars start with competing law-firms over that spot?
On the other hand, tax payers are always the losers because they have to pay for both police salary, prosecutor salary, and any legal settlement money for lawyers.
> I just got back from 12 hours in NYPD holding. If I can get arrested (with all of my white privilege and generally perceived non-threatening stature), so can anybody. ... Obviously I don’t know what happened in each person’s actual arrest, but I do know that the criminal charges overwhelmingly fell to people of color and those with more masculine gender presentations. One of the most distressing things I find about…
I think you're attacking a strawman here. I'm sure there are people who say that women have no privilege ever and men have all of it all the time, you shouldn't judge the entire concept based on the angriest 15-year-old Tumblrers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you considered that reading the article might give you an answer to this question?
It's easy to miss things. Sticking a piece of information in the middle of the 10th paragraph is a great way to hide it.
Perhaps it time someone built a web site where the opinions, comments, and especially actions/votes, of every politician running for office, from City Council on up, were tracked. Scoring the politicians based on their support for the constitution and especially human rights, plus encouraging the vote, could fix this after just an election cycle or two.