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posted by LaminatorX on Monday November 24 2014, @06:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the life-skills dept.

Kate Briquelet reports in the NY Post that Principal Mark Federman of East Side Community HS has invited the New York Civil Liberties Union to give a two-day training session to 450 students on interacting with police. “We’re not going to candy-coat things — we have a problem in our city that’s affecting young men of color and all of our students,” says Federman. “It’s not about the police being bad. This isn’t anti-police as much as it’s pro-young people . . . It’s about what to do when kids are put in a position where they feel powerless and uncomfortable.” The hourlong workshops — held in small classroom sessions during advisory periods — focused on the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program and how to exercise Fourth Amendment rights when being stopped and questioned in a car or at home.

Some law-enforcement experts say the NYCLU is going beyond civics lessons and doling out criminal-defense advice. “It’s unlikely that a high school student would come away with any other conclusion than the police are a fearful group to be avoided at all costs,” says Eugene O’Donnell, a former police officer and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. NYCLU representatives told kids to be polite and to keep their hands out of their pockets. But they also told students they don’t have to show ID or consent to searches, that it’s best to remain silent, and how to file a complaint against an officer. Candis Tolliver, NYCLU’s associate director for advocacy, says was the first time she trained an entire high school. “This is not about teaching kids how to get away with a crime or being disrespectful. This is about making sure both sides are walking away from the situation safe and in control.”

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 24 2014, @10:16AM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 24 2014, @10:16AM (#119369) Journal

    "when you are stopped and frisked in New York, is that different from a normal detention?"

    Of course it is. In a "normal" detention, the cop must be able to show probable cause. At the very least, he must be able to tell a judge that he had probable cause, even IF he refuses to share that probable cause with the "suspect".

    Under "Stop and frisk" no cause was needed. No cause was expected. Young black men were targeted, and a quota had to be met. In effect, the sergeant at the precinct ordered his officers to stop 20 (or 100) young black men and frisk them, each day. They were stopped BECAUSE THEY WERE BLACK, and for no other reason.

    If you were stopped because you were black, AND BECAUSE you looked stoned, that might be bad - but there would at least be the vaguest probable cause.
    If you were stopped because you were black, AND BECAUSE you had a boom box on your shoulder, that might be bad again, but there is the faint excuse that you were appeared to be ready to disturb the peace with loud music.

    I could go on all day - the point is, the need for probable cause was stripped away by the stop and frisk program.

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  • (Score: 1) by takyon on Monday November 24 2014, @07:40PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday November 24 2014, @07:40PM (#119526) Journal

    Thanks. I can't believe a court hasn't demolished this program yet.

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