dagblog - Comments for "A Troubled Teenager (with guns) at Odds With Life (and 'gangs') in the Bronx"

This photo of cops outside

artappraiser — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 01:02:33 +0000

This photo of cops outside the building is interesting on my point about the NYPD being racially mixed; white shirts are Lieutenant or above; the only lowly beat cop in this photo is on the far right in the dark navy shirt:

New NYC gun story: 'I did

artappraiser — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 00:47:17 +0000

In reply to A Troubled Teenager (with guns) at Odds With Life (and 'gangs') in the Bronx

New NYC gun story:

'I did not shoot anybody': Suspect denies shooting 3-year-old Brooklyn boy in head

The toddler, who neighbors identified as Tharell, was inside his E. 21st St. apartment in Flatbush when a bullet pierced his skull. The wounded child was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

By Joseph Stepansky, Ryan Sit, and Denis Slattery, New York Daily News, August 25, 2013

A 3-year-old Brooklyn boy fought for his life Saturday after a neighbor shot him in the head just months after he suffered horrific injuries when a pit bull belonging to his mother’s boyfriend bit him, cops and outraged neighbors said.

The bullet pierced little Tharell Edward’s skull inside his mom’s Flatbush apartment about 3:30 a.m., cops said. Tharell was inside the second-floor apartment at E. 21st St. with his mother’s female roommate and 22-year-old neighbor Akeem Bernard when the shot rang out.

Bernard was charged late Saturday with felony assault, criminal possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child and tampering with evidence.

[....] “She’s very irresponsible, very neglectful,” said neighbor Tony Reid of the boy’s mother. “She had a dog that bit the baby and when the baby came back from the hospital the child fell down the staircase that week. Twice that week.” [....]

I must admit I don't know

artappraiser — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 03:19:28 +0000

In reply to I read an article a few weeks

I must admit I don't know Queens that well and it is like a microcosm of the world as we know it, with literally hundreds of ethnic immigrant 'hoods, there may well be high crime areas with ethno gangs that some people would characterize as "white," like Albanians or Thais or whatever, you know what I mean. What the article was talking about, it could have been there?

I should throw this into the hopper here. A lot of our cops might be arrogant assholes, and real stupid on the profiling, but they are no longer majority "white;" this happened in 2010:

Nearly one out of three police officers is Hispanic; another 19 percent is black. In the past, Asian people never figured in the statistical breakdown, but now comprise 5.6 percent of the force. Together, these three groups now add up to 52.5 percent of police officers.

But then as we know from the case of George Zimmerman, it could all depend on what kind of Hispanic you look and act like whether you're "white" or not?

Groups of black teens hanging around on the streets of bad neighborhoods do unquestionably get targeted, of that I am convinced.

I read an article a few weeks

ocean-kat — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 02:54:19 +0000

In reply to In NYC, it is because they

I read an article a few weeks ago that claimed that there are some high crime areas that are majority white that are not targeted and have almost no stop and frisks. The contention of the article was, obviously, that stop and frisk was discriminatory. Who knows? But it was a main stream relatively credible site. Probably slate or salon. Sorry, did a quick search and couldn't find the article.

I wish to clarify my

Richard Day — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 22:34:28 +0000

In reply to She also did an interview

I wish to clarify my 'position' on this matter, once and for all?

I do not want drunken idiots driving down my highways.

I do no want gun toting idiots strolling my streets.

I am so angry at 'gangs' bullying our streets and highways and neighborhoods!

Blacks and Hispanics lose more kin through these gangland wars than Whites!

That is a fact.

I live in Eden really.

I have witnessed one bloody fight in the ten years I have been up here. It was a fist fight.

These things do not happen here.

I lived in the cities for 50 years plus and there are problems.

If I were living in the 'cities' I would demand stop and frisk.

Babies are killed, mommies are killed, innocents are killed.

I support our police.

I do not think there are other avenues really.

Tens of thousands die every damn year from these damned gangland shootings.

For no damned reason.

Chicago and NYC and other great urban centers experience the deaths of innocents.

Stop and frisk appears to have a real effect as far as dealing with these meaningless deaths.

I am a liberal/progressive, but we must help the city to defend us citizens.

That's all I got right now.

In NYC, it is because they

artappraiser — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 21:58:27 +0000

In reply to This is a very simplistic

In NYC, it is because they only target high crime neighborhoods and those also largely happen to be neighborhoods of people of color. To extend stop and frisk to more white kids here would mean extend the targeting across a huge geographic area with the need for many many more cops.

NYC policing really does target high crime neighborhoods, that's the thing. Ain't no cops on the street in my hood in the Bronx (Kingsbridge,) you have to call them if you need them. And my hood is majority Dominican, but very mixed; as a visiting brother described it, "incredibly diverse," with immigrants from around the world. I have never see anyone stop n' frisked anywhere in my hood over the last 10 years, and I regularly walk or bike or drive through our 20-block business district in the wee hours, when I go to the few 24-hours stores. (And the precinct station is within that, next to a 24hr. McDonald's and a 24-hour laundromat. Rarely see cops come in or out, just their parked cars. There are also low life corner bars with alcoholics hanging outside smoking, strip malls with restaurants and stores like Staples and two supermarkets, and at one end, a big shopping development with a Target, Applebees, etc. )

And we do have low-income housing projects, like Marble Hill Houses, right near that big shopping development. I never go inside the courtyard of Marble Hill houses, have no reason to, as I do not live in them; perhaps the police do target it, and stop and frisk there, have to admit I am not sure of that. They do not do it in the shopping development, not that I have seen, and lots of people of color come there from the South Bronx via subway to shop at the Target. If I did have to visit someone that lived in Marble Hill Houses late at night, I will give you my opinion: I would not be bothered that much if I were frisked or had to go through a metal detector before going in, just like at a courthouse or in an airport. But then, I would not like to have to live in a place that had to have such security with controlled entrances and exits. But then, a lot of rich people do choose to live that way! With a doorman stopping you from going in if you are "suspicious"....

She also did an interview

artappraiser — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 21:25:46 +0000

In reply to Also see, regarding another

She also did an interview with the local news TV station on Aug. 13 (note that the extended video interview is available in the left column):

http://bronx.news12.com/news/mother-of-slain-teen-alphonza-bryant-favors...

It does clarify her opinion with more nuance:

THE BRONX - A Bronx mother is standing up in favor of stop-and-frisk, one day after an independent monitor was appointed to oversee the controversial NYPD practice.

Jenaii Van Doten says she's pleased with the judge's decision, but unlike many people, she hopes the monitor will actually increase the number of stops while making them more effective [....]

This is a very simplistic

Richard Day — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 20:56:10 +0000

In reply to Also see, regarding another

This is a very simplistic approach on my part to this problem; but why the hell don't they just go ahead and frisk more White Folks.

Get the discrimination issue out of all of this.

You would never get away with stop and frisk in Dallas for instance because of 2nd Amendment issues.

Analogously, we have set up traffic stops in this state and nab thousands of extra DUI arrests every year. Everybody gets stopped--no discrimination!

As is often the case, you get

artappraiser — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 20:53:12 +0000

In reply to A very sad story. We have

As is often the case, you get to the heart of the matter.

Got me thinking maybe just maybe a society can make progress at making bullying less cool, with massive work at it culturally. But even if that's possible, young men forming gangs of some kind isn't going to go away, not until we figure out a lot more about the brain and hormones....

Meanwhile, what to do about guns being cool with young men "in the hood," giving them a feeling of power and control, and the conflict with civil liberties? Also keeping in mind that in many cases, as in Chicago and NYC, they are getting these illegally.

Also see, regarding another

artappraiser — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 20:28:44 +0000

In reply to A Troubled Teenager (with guns) at Odds With Life (and 'gangs') in the Bronx

Also see, regarding another recent Bronx case:

Mother of slain Bronx 17-year-old Alphonza Bryant says 'stop-and-frisks are terrorizing our kids' but some kids need it
Jenaii Van Doten says targeted stop-and-frisks could have saved her son, who was the victim of gunfire that was randomly shot toward his group of friends.

By Jenaii Van Doten, New York Daily News, May 1, 2013

[....] I support stop-and-frisks. I’m open to anything that gets guns off our streets. The policy works sometimes but not all the time. I’m not a lawmaker, but the stops need to be better targeted at real criminals.

I’m not a political person, and I don’t want my son used as a political pawn in this debate.

My son was stop-and-frisked. A couple months ago [....]

Being stopped and frisked didn’t upset him. He was not affected by that. They just went back in the store and ate [....]

Some people are saying stop-and-frisks are terrorizing our kids. Some kids need to be terrorized. Maybe my son wouldn’t have been shot if the right kids were terrorized.