This past Wednesday (January 24, 2007), NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly was grilled by the New York City Council on the November 25th Sean Bell killing, in which undercover cops fired fifty shots at a car Sean Bell was driving.
In Kelly’s opening statement he said, “However it should be noted that the first officer who fired his weapon that night was black and of the five officers who fired their weapons that night, three were black and two were white.”
He added, “...we strongly contest that the Department engages in any racial profiling.”
As expected, Commissioner Kelly’s remarks sparked outrage among some of the Council members.
Helen Foster (D-Bnx) said, “This is real. SO when you say it’s not racially motivated...it doesn’t matter because you’re not the one being racially profiled.”
Charles Barron (D-Bklyn) said, “You have sent a signal to your department that they can kill us, brutalize us with impunity. They know that 99% of the time they’re going to get away with it, whether it’s 41 bullets (a reference to the 1999 Amadou Diallo killing) or 50 bullets, no matter what it is, they’re going to get away with it.”
Ironically enough, Joseph Guzman, who was in the car and was hit with 16 of the 50 shots, said “I’m not going to sit here and play the race card, I don’t think this was racial, but I do think a crime was committed.”
Of course Guzman’s testimony means nothing to the likes of Charles Barron, to Barron, black police officers “are Blue.”
In Kelly’s opening statement he said, “However it should be noted that the first officer who fired his weapon that night was black and of the five officers who fired their weapons that night, three were black and two were white.”
He added, “...we strongly contest that the Department engages in any racial profiling.”
As expected, Commissioner Kelly’s remarks sparked outrage among some of the Council members.
Helen Foster (D-Bnx) said, “This is real. SO when you say it’s not racially motivated...it doesn’t matter because you’re not the one being racially profiled.”
Charles Barron (D-Bklyn) said, “You have sent a signal to your department that they can kill us, brutalize us with impunity. They know that 99% of the time they’re going to get away with it, whether it’s 41 bullets (a reference to the 1999 Amadou Diallo killing) or 50 bullets, no matter what it is, they’re going to get away with it.”
Ironically enough, Joseph Guzman, who was in the car and was hit with 16 of the 50 shots, said “I’m not going to sit here and play the race card, I don’t think this was racial, but I do think a crime was committed.”
Of course Guzman’s testimony means nothing to the likes of Charles Barron, to Barron, black police officers “are Blue.”
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