Senator Parker Calls for Systematic Change at NYPD: Racist attitudes and behaviors must be curtailed

(Brooklyn, NY) Today Senator Parker demanded serious action from Commissioner Kelly surrounding the racist Facebook comments allegedly made by several NYPD officers. In a letter Parker requests that the results of the pending internal investigation be made public and any officer found to be in violation be disciplined beyond just administrative duty.

“It’s time that Commissioner Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg deal with this issue systematically and stop characterizing this continuous behavior as “isolated incidents,” stated Parker. “The Commissioner needs to institute systematic policy changes. We cannot tolerate a racist culture of officers in one of the most racially/ethnically diverse places in the world. How can these officers protect people when they believe that they are ‘savages’ and ‘animals’,” continued Parker.

This letter was in response to a New York Times article released yesterday quoting racist and prejudice Facebook remarks allegedly made by NYPD officers that were unveiled in the criminal case of Tyrone Johnson last month. This is one of many letters written by Parker to the Commissioner questioning racist, prejudice, and bigoted actions by NYPD this year.

Parker’s letter states the actions of these officers “reflects a growing chorus of concerns of a department that promotes racism and bigotry when there is a presumption of wrongdoing if you are black, Hispanic, Muslim, or South Asian.” Parker has continually voiced his concern that the negative actions and remarks of NYPD officers threaten the safety of the public and foster mistrust of the police department.

“The residents of New York City deserve a police department that is sensitive to their culture and understands the diverse needs of the population. Anything less is unacceptable,” stated Parker.

About Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse community that consists of 311,000 constituents in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington and Borough Park. He has one of the largest Caribbean-American concentrations in the state. He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, former Majority Whip and Chair of the Democratic Task Force on New Americans.