Latino
Police Officers Sue NYPD Over Discrimination
From Hoy
August 9, 2002
By Mauricio Ojeda
Members of the Latino Officers Association gathered to announce
they are moving forward with an suit raised by 46 police officers
looking to prove in court that the New York Police Department discriminated
against them because of their race.
This measure will help make it so that officers are treated equally
inside of the disciplinary system and, in some form, work to end
the discrimination against Hispanic and African American police
officers on the force.
According to the president of the association, Anthony Miranda,
it is evident that minority police officers receive very different
treatment.
Statistics compiled from 1995 to 2000 and revealed by Miranda indicate
that out of the total of police officers tried in the disciplinary
system, African Americans and Hispanics are accused formally and
found guilty more often than white officers.
"This decision is of great importance, because the discrimination
we are talking about affects each minority agent in the department
and has definitively ruined the lives of hundreds of officers,"
said Miranda.
Queens council member Hiram Monserrate accompanied the members
of the Latino Officers Association and promised to push for better
enforcement of civil rights laws. "These numbers are based
on a discrimination that should not exist in any part of this city,
much less in the department in charge of enforcing the citys
laws," he commented.
For its part, the New York Police Department did not have any comment
on the matter.
Translated from Spanish by Erica Pearson
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