DETECTIVE CHRISTOPHER RIDLEY IS OUR HERO

DETECTIVE CHISTOPHER RIDLEY

On February 1, 2008 we sent our brother to a better place. Detective Christopher Ridley is our Hero. Whenever there is a loss of life of one of our fellow law enforcement brethren, it is unfortunate and tragic. We will ask the question over and over again. How could this happen to our brother Detective Christopher Ridley?

Is it because he did not have the complexion for the protection? Or was just a bad case of miscommunication and judgment on the part of all officers involved? God only knows the truth at this time. We are asking the community to not rush to judgment on any officer’s role in this unfortunate situation until the facts in this matter are concrete and clear.

Moreover, we do not condemn our brother officers to stand alone in their time of need. We embrace them as they must come to terms with their role in this tragic incident.

We will say OVER and OVER AGAIN as Black Law Enforcement Professionals we must look into the institutional perception and policies of policing when it comes to the people of our communities. With these perceptions, black communities are at a tremendous disadvantage and can never hope to receive the service and protection from the police that are rightfully due to them.

We can never forget that slavery led to the creation of uniformed police in southern cities decades before New York and Boston established the forces which remain the accepted starting point for the history of the police in the United States.

Shelly Zieger states in an article that Joshua Correll, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, has been trying to find the answer through a series of studies he has published since 2002. Through a video simulation Correll and his colleagues created, 270 police officers were studied from 15 different states and 187 civilians in an attempt to gauge how racial bias plays into a police officer’s decision to shoot a suspect. It showed that the officers, just like untrained civilians, seem to exhibit racial bias in their reaction time. They were quicker to decide not to shoot an unarmed white suspect than an unarmed black suspect and slower to decide to shoot an armed white suspect than an armed black suspect. The results, Correll believes, suggest that participants associate African Americans with more violence and said the implication could be ominous.

According to the Department of Justice Westchester County have six (6) police agencies with one hundred (100) or more full-time employees. These agencies are Greenburgh, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Yonkers, and Westchester County Police Department.

The racial breakdown of the six agencies including the Westchester County Police Department is:

Total Blacks Percentage
Westchester County Police: 290 total officers, 15 black officers, that equals to 5%
Greenburgh Police: 133 total officers, 17 black officers, that equals to 13%
Mt. Vernon Police: has 211 total and 51 black officers, that equals to 24%
New Rochelle Police: has 257 total officers, 37 black officers, that equals to 15%
White Plains Police: 265 total officers and 29 black officers, that equals to 11%
Yonkers Police: 673 total officers, 27 black officers, that equals to 4%


The population and racial breakdown of the cities that have 100 or more full-time law enforcement professionals are as follows:

Total Black Percentage
Greenburgh: 41,828 total population , the black population is 8,489,that equals to 21%
Mt Vernon: 68,381 total population, the black population is 40,743, that equals to 62%
New Rochelle :72,182 total population,the black population is 13,848,that equals to 20%
White Plains: 53,077 total population, the black population is 8,444, that equals to 17%
Yonkers: 196,086 total population, the black population is 32,575, that equals to 18%


The total population of Westchester County is 923,495. The black population is 131,132 , that equals to (15%).

By reviewing these totals, it is clear that these agencies do not come close to representing population of the citizens they serve.

Mt. Vernon and Yonkers have no black official higher than the rank of Sergeant. In the year 2007 this is very distressing when the black population of Yonkers in 18% and Mt.Vernon is 62%.

It is the view of the Westchester Chapter of the National Black Police Association that proper representation of black law enforcement professionals is a key when we are dealing with the issues of:


Departmental Promotions and Management
Departmental polices and how the affect the communities in Westchester; especially the communities of color.
Police Brutality and Police Misconduct
Effective Community Policing
Institutional Perceptions of African Americans


We will NOT lose another officer like the way we lost our brother Detective Ridley!

WESTCHESTER CHAPTER

NATIONAL BLACK POLICE ASSOCIATION