i’d only seen Victor once since the NYPD chose to beat him down for doing his job correctly (see june archives). we exchanged cell phone numbers, but he got my number wrong and lost his phone the next day. i’ve been trying to get in touch with him ever since (as have several members of the press who are interested in publishing the details of this case). just for the record, nobody who lives around here was surprised by the near-riot created by the NYPD on 6/22, this is business as usual for harlem — at least, for the black people living in harlem. seems like us whities get a free pass most of the time.
since the widely published accounts of the attack on Victor, i have seen more cops on this street than ever before in the 5 years i’ve lived here. the sight of a uniform anywhere around used to be a rarity — every now and then a sweep, but easily a month or more could pass without me ever running into an officer of any kind on or around my block. now, it’s an everyday thing, and i have to wonder whether the neighborhood outcry over the way Victor was mistreated has something to do with it.
full disclosure: yes, i have in the past been the victim of unwarranted violence by NYPD officers. but i’ve also had my life saved by the NYPD, who went above and beyond to help me at that time. i am also, for the record, the daughter of a 20-year NYPD street cop and have published an anthology (Off the Cuffs: Poetry by and about the Police) which is extremely even-handed, including work by police officers, inmates, victims, perpetrators, lawyers. i am not on a vendetta against the NYPD, but on a vendetta against injustice, wherever and however it’s encountered.
Victor, i’m glad to see you back at your post!
Recent Posts:
- minor injuries
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- the state of the union. sorta.
- twin city tragedy: silence
- on what planet is this “ethical”?
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