New Yorkers Demand More 'police Accountability'

Published January 7, 2012 7:54PM (EST)

NEW YORK (AP) — Several New York City politicians and community leaders are demanding more accountability from the city's police department when it comes to minorities.

They rallied Saturday against what they say is a culture of discrimination against minorities within the New York City Police Department. They say officers stop and search hundreds of thousands of innocent black and Hispanic men each year.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said last month that he was disturbed by racially hateful comments posted on Facebook, allegedly by police officers, regarding a West Indian Day Parade in September. Parade-goers were called "animals" and "savages." The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau has opened an investigation into the postings.

But the police commissioner also defended the department's aggressive policing of high-crime neighborhoods, saying it has made them safer.


By Salon Staff

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