NY Couple On "Wanted" Poster For Filming Police

Hugh Pickens writes "Ben Fractenberg and Jeff Mays write that the NYPD has created a 'wanted' poster for a Harlem couple who film cops conducting stop-and-frisks and post the videos on YouTube — branding them 'professional agitators' who portray cops in a bad light and listing their home address. The flyer featuring side-by-side mugshots of Matthew Swaye and Christina Gonzalez and the couple's home address was taped to a podium outside a public hearing room in the 30th Precinct house and warns officers to be on guard against them. The couple has filmed officers stopping and frisking and arresting young people of color in Harlem and around New York City, which they post on Gonzalez's YouTube account. They said their actions are legal. 'There have been times when it's gotten combative. There have been times when they [police officers] have videoed Christina,' says Swaye. 'But if we were breaking the law they would have arrested us.' Swaye was part of a group of advocates including Cornel West who were detained at the 28th Precinct in Harlem in October for protesting the stop-and-frisk policy which Mayor Bloomberg strongly defends. "

Comments

So they made flyer?

[garcia]

From the article:

The pair said they are considering legal options over the flyer, but will more likely use the incident to raise awareness about stop-and-frisk.

The only reason they would consider legal options would be because it would bring awareness to their (admittedly excellent) campaign.

If they want to record the cops doing what they believe is wrong, I honestly don't see why the police cannot publicly post a warning to other officers in what seems to be a mostly harmless joking way.

Listen, public embarrassment and notice is a two way street. If you want to publicly post the actions of the police, I don't see why you should feel others couldn't do the same to you.

Re:Amazing

[theshowmecanuck]

Most people don't mind this because every time it is implemented the crime rate goes down. When the bad guys know they are being watched, they don't do bad things. The truth is if you want to dress like a gansta or tough guy, don't be surprised if people treat you like one. Why else does someone dress like that other than to project an image.

If the image you want to project is that of a bad guy tough guy, stop fucking whining when you are treated that way. It's like women who where low cut tops and push up bras so their tits are bulging out, and then bitching about how they are degraded when men look at their tits. People are hard wired to react to what they see. Why, because evolution (you know that thing that we bitch about the religious right ignoring) wired us like this because it helped us survive. When we see potential danger or tough guy competition, we react. When we want to intimidate to win a fight without fighting (fighting is a last resort in the economy of survival... it is too dangerous to do it as a first resort) so we try to look tough and intimidate first. So the fact that we defend or go against the people who dress like tough guys is a facet of our evolutionary past.

The fact we look at big tits is part of our evolution too. If women look healthy it is ingrained in us that they are the ones we want to schtup... errr mate with. Bottom line, what we dress and act like is how others will treat us because evolution told us that generalizing is the safe way to go and leads to a greater chance to survive and excel, and we can generalize that guys who look like criminals probably have those tendencies. So stop trying to look the part and a good chance you won't be harassed.

I know the politically correct will hate this. I think they hate the effects of evolution more than the religious right. They don't like the fact that we are in essence animals and react often instinctually, and that no amount of 'civilization' will end it. No we are not above our animal instincts. At best we can mitigate them as long as it serves to our benefit. So get over it "sensitive people." And right now, people are allowing their instinctual fear of the guys who look like they want to bad things to them rule. And since crime goes down when these policies are enacted, it shows that our instincts via evolution are once again, correct. It is hard to win against a biologically ingrained education won over scores of millennia at the school or hard knocks.