Lack of Accountability of Police Criminality from Westchester Officials Spawns New Breed of Bad Law Enforcement

The Westchester Chapter of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) and the Yonkers Chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have been monitoring the issue of police criminality in Westchester’s communities. We have seen the civil rights of our mothers, sisters, fathers and brothers repeatedly violated and abused. How many more reports of police misconduct and criminality must we hear about?

Neither the outrage from the community, eyewitnesses reports, videos of incidents, or pictures of brutalized victims have made this madness stop. What will it take for our County Executive, County Legislators to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?

The dreadful offense that happened to Ms. Marquez is one more reason why something must be done about the ungodly attitude of policing in Westchester County when it comes to people of color and people who are economically disadvantaged. As citizens we can no longer tolerate Police criminality in our communities. How many times are we going to be lulled to sleep by Mayor Amiccone and our County elected officials? They have failed to serve and protect the citizens of Westchester County.

By no means was this offensive attack indicative of the behavior of all law enforcement officers who each day put on their uniforms, put their lives on the line and do the jobs that they were sworn to do. This was the action of rogue police officers; and we demand a critical and fair accounting of the few police officers that crossed the line. Their actions gives a false sense of security and breeds a new generation of police officers that believe it is okay to beat up, slam up, set up the citizens they have sworn to serve and not face punishment. Instead, they move up the ranks in the law enforcement.

For over a year how did the DA’s office vigorously pursue the prosecution of Ms Marquez, yet manage to overlook the illegal and criminal actions of Officer Simmones? The lack of the swift accountability from the DA’s office gives us yet one more reason for the need for a permanent State-level Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute cases that involve alleged police brutality and misconduct. If the Westchester DA Janet DiFiore’s office does not pursue justice with a thorough investigation of the actions of these rouge police officers, she and her office have once again proved her office to be incapable of handling cases that involved police misconduct.

Westchester County Department of Public Safety the Chief’s Association must also share this responsibility. Where did Officer Simmones learn this tactical move to subdue Ms Marquez? How many times have other Law Enforcement officers use this tactic on women in Westchester? Did they teach this in the academy? Or was it yearly training by the departments? After the “Use of Force Report” from Westchester officials, we must now look even closer to the training at all levels. The constant reoccurrence of these unfortunate incidences with Law Enforcement in Westchester has shown that New York State Minimum Standards are not enough. We need to know how training and our Police Departments rank are and compare to the National Standards.

We also need balance. Can someone tell me who is policing the police? A recent News 12 opinion poll reported that 65 percent of the people polled saw police brutality as an issue in the communities in Westchester County. Westchester County officials must react, respond and make the necessary moves now to rectify these critical issues.

It is time for Revolutionary Change in law enforcement in Westchester County. We are calling on the creation of County level Law Enforcement oversight board or County Level Independent CCRB (Civilian Complaint Review Board) with both subpoena power and power to implement binding recommendations on policy and procedures where necessary.

This external, objective, third party review is the only way we can build trust between the community and law enforcement; and it is the only way to ensure that our police departments are effective and that they will truly protect and serve our communities.