PWB (Policing while Black)

Shortly after the murder of Ridley, the NY Times published a report intimating that people without homes were the ultimate cause of the shooting, not concepts of criminalization that re-surface when white police see racially minoritized bodies in motion. In the case of Ridley, the Times stated "It was not the first time that the presence of the homeless in downtown White Plains had led to confrontation or worse." Fernanda Santos, reporting for the Times, painted a portrait for readers of the men (without homes) of downtown White Plains: "the men [the men without homes] convene on the sidewalk outside, in the shadows of luxury condominium buildings, waiting for their ride" (emphases mine).

Observe the criminalizing discourse and the contrasts instilled through various juxtapositions of language: Nameless (homeless) men convene. They are men "outside" of normative living structures--"luxury condominiums." Waiting, i.e., they are wrongly dependent in this nation of autonomous individuals; they lurk in the "shadows" of unquestioned people, people with homes. The men convene outside of comfort, outside of extravagance. Some might say Santos was attempting to emphasize unjust contrasts in living, but I argue that she reinforced the racialized notions of predominantly liberal Times readers.

As a girl born and raised in West Harlem, the NY Times report and the fact that the grand jury saw nothing "criminal" in the shooting f Ridley came as no surprise to me. Thank goodness, despite this ruling, Ridley's mother provided the media with her understanding of what occurred that day in January. From gothamist:

The grand jury found "no reasonable cause to believe that a criminal offense was committed," leading Ridley's mother to say, "I feel in my heart he was executed by the Westchester County Police Department." Ironically, it was Ridley who called for assistance that summoned the four County Officers who killed him.

On 13 April 2009, the NY Daily News reported that the Ridley family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that the DA and "other top Westchester officials" covered up the "'execution-style' killing" of Ridley:

Officer Frank Oliveri took Mount Vernon Officer Christopher Ridley's badge so that it could be "discovered" later in Ridley's car - and buttress Oliveri's claim that Ridley failed to "identify himself as a policeman," the suit alleges. The racially charged allegation is part of a $90 million federal civil rights lawsuit . . . It identified Oliveri, a former NYPD cop, as the officer who "put his duty weapon to Officer Ridley's head, and at point blank range shot him once about the left eye intentionally killing him instantly."

Officer Frank Oliveri (l.) shot off-duty cop Christopher Ridley at point-blank range, but was exonerated of any crime in 2008. From "Black-and-white cover-up in shooting of Mt. Vernon Officer Christopher Ridley, says bombshell suit," NY Daily News 13 April 2009.

The DA, Janet DiFiore "dismissed the lawsuit as 'complete and total lies.' She also lambasted the attorney who filed it, Jonathan Lovett" (NY Daily News 13 April 2009). Note that in 2005 Lovett's legal partner, "Jane Gould, of Lovett & Gould L.L.P., [appealed] . . . the firing of an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn because the employee wrote a book about prosecutors and the realities of being a district attorney."

NYPD Officer Omar Edwards. Murdered by fellow police 30 May 2009. NYT 2009

The New York Times
30 May 2009
By RUSS BUETTNER and AL BAKER

A New York City police officer who had just gotten off duty was fatally shot late Thursday in East Harlem by a fellow officer who mistook him for an armed criminal, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said.

The slain officer, Omar J. Edwards, 25, who was assigned to patrol housing projects and was wearing plain clothes, was shot in the arm and chest after a team of three other plainclothes officers in a car saw him chasing a man on East 125th Street between First and Second Avenues with his gun drawn, Mr. Kelly said.

The three officers, assigned to the anti-crime unit in the 25th Precinct, got out of their vehicle and confronted Officer Edwards. The police were investigating whether the officers had identified themselves or demanded that Officer Edwards drop his weapon before one of them opened fire.

Sources identified the officer who fired the shots as Andrew Dunton, a four-year veteran of the department. While Mr. Kelly declined to identify the officer, who he had the shooter had fired six rounds from his 9-millimeter Glock. Two bullets struck Officer Edwards.

Officer Edwards, a recently married father of two from Brooklyn, was taken to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:21 p.m. No one else was injured.

"While we don't know all of the details of what happened tonight, this is a tragedy," Mayor Bloomberg said during an early morning news conference at the hospital. "Rest assured we will find out exactly what happened here and see what we can learn from it so it can never happen again."

The shooting is likely to raise questions again about departmental procedures involving communications among plainclothes officers -- particularly those in different units -- as well as issues of race. .

Officer Edwards is black, and Officer Dunton, who joined the department in January 2005, is white .

The tragedy for members of the force seemed to deepen because Officer Edward's father-in-law is also a police officer stationed in the 67th police precinct in Brooklyn, officials said. Officer Edwards, who joined the force in July 2007, was working as part of an Impact Response Team, a roving team of officers that supplement the department's prime crime-suppression program: Operation Impact. That program teams new officers with seasoned supervisors to flood areas where crime is surging. So in places where a city experiencing historic crime declines is still facing stubborn pockets of lawlessness, Officer Edwards was in the thick of that fight, officials said.

Mr. Kelly said the tragic string of events began when Officer Edwards, a member of the Housing Bureau Impact Response Team, left duty about 10:30 p.m., approached his car and saw that a man had broken the driver's side window and was rummaging through the vehicle. The two scuffled, and the man escaped Officer Edwards's grip by slipping out of his sweater.

A police official said officers at the scene learned that Officer Edwards was a colleague only when they ripped open his shirt in an effort to revive him and saw a Police Academy T-shirt. They then searched his pants pockets and found a badge.

The two officers and sergeant in the car that spotted Officer Edwards were all assigned to the anti-crime unit from the 25th Precinct. Investigators were interviewing the two officers in the car who did not fire at Officer Edwards. The department does not interview officers involved in fatal shootings until a prosecutor determines whether criminal charges will be brought.

The man who apparently broke into Officer Edwards's car, Miguel Santiago, was also being interviewed by investigators, officials said. The police said his five prior arrests include charges of robbery, assault and drug violations.

There have been at least two cases of off-duty police officers being shot by colleagues in the New York region in recent years.

In January 2008, a Mount Vernon officer, Christopher A. Ridley, 23, was killed by Westchester County police officers in downtown White Plains as he tried to restrain a homeless man whom he had seen assault another person.

And in February 2006, a New York City officer, Eric Hernandez, 24, was fatally shot by a fellow officer while responding to a 911 call about a fight at a White Castle restaurant in the Bronx.

Thursday night's shooting occurred near the approach to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough).

Maalik Lane, 20, was waiting for a bus nearby at 125th Street and Third Avenue when, he said, he heard more than five gunshots.

"I saw police, up to 20 police cars," driving by at high speeds, said Mr. Lane, who lives on Wards Island. "I was, like, someone is having a shootout with police. The bus driver said, 'Somebody shot the police."

Mr. Lane added, "I feared for my life."

Just before 1 a.m. Friday, the ambulance parking bay at the hospital had been roped off, with six police officers standing sentry. More than a dozen officers, some in uniform, others in plain clothes, paced and waited for news.

After the news conference, about 3 a.m., officers left the hospital, several in tears and consoling one another.