African-American leaders write: “We were appalled at the recent verbal attacks on and water dousing of police officers in Harlem and Brooklyn.”
As African-American leaders who are proud to call New York City home and/or where we work, we were appalled at the recent verbal attacks on and water dousing of police officers in Harlem and Brooklyn who appeared to be lawfully executing their responsibilities to keep our communities safe and orderly.
This behavior is not at all representative of the millions of law-abiding citizens in our diverse communities. Nonetheless, it would be irresponsible for us not to call out this unacceptable behavior.
The New York Police Department is to be commended for its recent and sustained progress in making the city the safest big city in America. Violent crime and homicides have declined significantly. Practices historically deemed unacceptable by the African-American community, like “stop and frisk” and racial profiling, have also been meaningfully reduced.
And police engagement, through neighborhood policing and other methods, is on a very positive trajectory, but there is certainly more work to be done.
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