RESPONSE TO YONKERS PD FULL PAGE AT IN JOURNAL NEWS ON SUNDAY SEPT 23, 2007

In response to the Yonkers Police Department’s (YPD) nearly full-page ad in the September 23, 2007 edition of The Westchester Journal Newspaper, the Westchester Chapter of The National Black Police Association feels that the advertisement is a misrepresentation of the issues. Our criticism is not an attack on the YPD as a whole or the fine officers that serve and protect the Yonkers community. Instead we are demanding critical and fair accountability of the few police officers that cross the line and that the administration recognize and correct their failure to address this ongoing epidemic.As stated in previous press releases, it is no secret in the law enforcement community of Westchester that the attitudes and actions of some YPD professionals are appalling. These attitudes have been ignored for years. More often these negative attitudes are displayed in the underprivileged communities of color.

6,700 arrest and 34 complaints sounds very impressive. After attending the forum of the NAACP in September 2006, where wall to wall citizens of Yonkers who had complaints (obviously more than 34). The victims were either scared to file a complaint due to fear of retaliation by the accused officers or they didn't know how to file a proper complaint.Since September 2006, complaints have been filed at the Nepperhan Community Center and with the Yonkers NAACP, as well as the National Action Network. It is well documented that most victims of police brutality admit to being victims, but do not file formal complaints. This is not to say that police brutality does not exist.


It is an outrage to the Yonkers communities of colors and its voters that only 5.3% of its Yonkers police officers are black when the black population of Yonkers is 19%. Again, where are the young men and women of color? Or is the perception of YPD so horrible that no young black man or woman that has grown up in Yonkers wouldn't dare take the job. To build trust in the communities of color and its voters, the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, along with the City Council should support an independent Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) in order to build trust in the communities of color and its voters. An independent CCRB will serve as a balance between YPD and the community it claims it wants to serve and protect.