“Run Roughshod Over The Constitution” Is Probably The Biggest Cliche In Civil Liberties Editorial Writing

And yet The Times’ Sunday editorial basically calling on the NYPD not to “run roughshod over the Constitution” could be a turning point in unweirding the atmosphere in New York City:

Since 9/11, courts have broadened the Police Department’s investigative authority in the vital interest of protecting the city from terrorist attack. The department should not interpret that as a license to run roughshod over the Constitution.

Even the Commissioner himself so easily conflates stop and frisk and terrorism. It’s spooky how easy (via):

“Listen, I know we’d all like to go back to a more peaceful time in America. That’s just not the country in which we live, and it’s certainly not the world in which we live. Sometimes I believe there’s this notion that if we don’t have a threat for two months, well, things are getting better. Only they’re not. This is a long-term war we’re in against terrorism, and we are going to continue to do what we’re doing. And we are going to continue to go after guns.”

No wonder people are supposedly “supportive” of NYPD tactics — if you don’t listen closely it sounds like they’re stopping Osama bin Laden and frisking Mullah Omar.

You Want Me Frisking That Kid Against That Wall! You Need Me Frisking That Kid Against That Wall!

As the Mayor might put it, Ray Kelly executes a “cute” rhetorical maneuver:

The defensive scowl etched into Mr. Kelly’s face dropped away as he suggested that the Council was notably at a loss to offer ideas — any ideas at all — for how to stop violence among young minority men.

“What I haven’t heard is any solution to the violence problems in these communities — people are upset about being stopped, yet what is the answer?” Mr. Kelly asked Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, who had been asking the commissioner to acknowledge that the department’s practice of street stops in minority communities left many people “feeling under siege.”

“What have you said about how do we stop this violence?” Mr. Kelly asked, asserting that violence among minority youth is “something that the government has an obligation to try to solve.”

Look, no one wants any one of the 51 city councilmembers thinking about how to stop violence — lord knows what they’ll come up with. But just because they’re morons doesn’t make it OK to stop over half a million people (actually, 684,330; if that were a city, it would be the 19th largest in the country, ahead of Baltimore, Boston, Seattle, DC, Denver and Oklahoma City) last year under god knows what pretense.

I Personally Like The Idea Of Soda Pop In Every Water Fountain

A poll is out indicating that New Yorkers are supportive of the NYPD’s program that collects intelligence on area Muslims: “A majority of city voters believe the New York Police Department has acted appropriately in anti-terrorism efforts that have focused on Muslims, according to a new poll.”

But people think a lot of things, and just because someone thinks something — or even a majority of them think something — doesn’t necessarily make those things good ideas. For example, at one time a large number of people thought it was OK to torture terrorists if they had information about a ticking time bomb (45 percent), or even use a nuclear weapon against a terrorist camp (34 percent). No really!

Then there’s consistent public support for an amendment to make flag burning illegal.

And people still seem to have an issue with gay people adopting children.

You can go on and on finding polls that uncover all manner of ideas. Basically, we think a lot of things; that doesn’t always mean we’re right. Especially when it comes to what we think it’s OK to let the cops do.

Third Terms Work Best When Everyone Shuts The Fuck Up And Does What The Higher-Ups Want

At some point you have to wonder if even the cops themselves are embarrassed about stuff like stop & frisk:

[The victim] said the officer who frisked him [ . . . ] was “really aggressive,” especially when grabbing around his crotch area. He felt violated. The search of his car came up empty, but the cops issued [the victim] a summons for parking in front of a fire hydrant. [The victim] took down [the officer’s] badge number and later filed a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Months later, the board ruled that [the officer] had abused his authority by frisking [the victim] and searching his vehicle. [The officer’s supervisor] was also convicted of abuse of authority for allowing the search.

[The victim] said he felt validated, but it doesn’t stop him from worrying about being stopped again.

“This Culture Has Got To Change”

The issues raised in the Voice series that showed the NYPD was cooking the books actually were investigated by the NYPD, except the findings were kept secret:

The implications of the report are obvious: If the 81st Precinct was a typical station house, then crime manipulation is more widespread than city officials have admitted.

John Eterno, a criminologist at Molloy College and a former NYPD captain, says that what was happening in the 81st Precinct is no isolated case. “The pressures on commanders are enormous, to make sure the crime numbers look good,” Eterno says. “This is a culture. This is happening in every precinct, every transit district, and every police housing service area. This culture has got to change.”

As for [the 81st Precinct Commander], he’s no rogue commander, says Eterno, who has published a book about crime reporting with John Jay College professor Eli Silverman. “[The commander] is no different from any other commander,” he says. “This is just a microcosm of what is happening in the entire police department.”