NYPD Sergeants Assoc. Using Flickr To Publicly Humiliate Homeless To Play Politics With Mayor De Blasio
from the cheap-shots dept
Let's say you're a leader in an association for NYPD sergeants. Now let's say you're, like, super aware of some of the changes and backlash against the NYPD that has occurred recently, chiefly concerning policies for policing the public, charges of racist and violent practices, and the insistance that the city government find ways to keep officers accountable for their actions. You know the city is looking into NYPD officials deleting information on illegal summons quotas. You know of the concern over the fact that the NYPD has pissed off so many black men that black men kind of don't want to join their ranks. And you're especially aware of the trend of greater protections for the public filming police doing their jobs and the crackdown on the crackdown of the photographers. What do you do?
Psshh, start a Flickr account solely for the purpose of poor-shaming the homeless to try and embarrass the Mayor, right?
The Sergeants Benevolent Association is spearheading the effort, emailing a letter to members Monday urging them and their families and friends to take pictures to document the decline of the city.Yes, Mullins (and the ironically named Sergeants Benevolent Association) then takes those photographs and uploads them to its Flickr account, because apparently the best way to make a political point to a political opponent is to publicly shame the least able to defend themselves. Should you not wish to view this material, something for which I wouldn't blame you, the pictures almost uniformly show homeless and vagrant folk in their own misery, often captioned with such wonderfully sympathetic thoughts as "Quality Of Life For The Mayor" and "Peek A Boo" and "Homeless Takeover NYC." The idea of shaming the homeless, who might be homeless for any number of reasons, is deplorable. As are Mullins' excuses for doing so.
“As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph the homeless lying in our streets, aggressive panhandlers, people urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type,” says the letter from SBA President Ed Mullins, a major critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Noting that more cops are being recorded on the job, Mullins wrote, “Shouldn’t accountability go both ways? We, the ‘Good Guys,’ are sworn to protect our citizens. Shouldn’t our public officials be held to the same standard?” he said.Except the two things aren't remotely equivalent. The public photographing the police performing their duties while serving that very same public isn't the same as snapshotting a 3rd party whose lives are already miserable to take political shots against the Mayor. Frankly, these are the kinds of things said by those with head injuries, not those leading a police association. More specifically, Mullins claims this is being done in response to pending city legislation that would require police to obtain permission to search a suspect if they don't have probable cause for an arrest. You know, that thing that's already in the goddamn Constitution? Yeah, that's why he's encouraging police to publicly shame the homeless.
Get a grip, guys...
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: bill de blasio, homeless, mayor, nyc, nypd, photographs, police, seargents benevolent association, shaming
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Entrance Requirements
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Please note that the USDOJ reminds us that it is unconstitutional to treat being homeless as a crime.
http://www.justice.gov/opa/file/643766/download
Cheers.
PS bite me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Response to: pacanukeha on Aug 13th, 2015 @ 2:05pm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
huh, kind of interesting, in a blatantly hypocritical kind of way...
again, in general, unions were (are) a necessary counterbalance to korporate power, but they have essentially sold out, been bought out, or co-opted by korporate power... also, they are pretty much dependent upon a significant portion of the working population be organized/unionized, or they lose their 'collective' bargaining power... (not to mention cross-industry strikes where unions can support each other can't happen when such a small percentage is unionized...)
and the monty burns of the world lave their hands with glee: 'the plan is working perfectly ! !! bwa ha ha ha ha haaaa'...
stupid sheeple...
how's that bread and circuses working out for you ? ? ?
hee hee hee
ho ho ho
ha ha ha
ak ak ak
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
There are plenty of others. They tend to be called "Associations" though - and they're also allowed to be self-policing when their members get up to illegal stuff.
One rule for the rich, etc.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
>>>Sergeants Benevolent Association
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This will surely upgrade the image of the NYPD.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Family and friends?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
1. If you are, in fact, the 'good guys' and are, in fact, 'protecting our citizens' then the recordings will only show you as the heroes we all want you to be!
2. If you want to hold some public officials accountable, then go record them on the job, not the homeless.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
People were already doing that, then they got taken to court for interfering with those cops as they carried out their duties. ;)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pictures? What pictures?
With 129 followers, they are certainly poopular.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Is anyone surprised
These are cops for christ sake.....who in that office came up with this shit and actually thought it was a good idea.
They totally lack leadership. Thank god I don't live there.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Urinating in Public
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I'm sure the Nazis considered themselves the 'Good Guys'. I'm sure ISIS considers themselves the 'Good Guys' for carrying out Alla's wishes.
I can't believe they pulled the 'Good Guys' card. I'm sure cops beating the crap out of unarmed black people while killing homeless people in Albuquerque New Mexico for camping in the desert consider themselves the 'Good Guys' too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
The Nazis had belt buckles inscribed with the words "God is with us"
Hitler believed he was on a christian Mission from God - he even wrote it in the last page of Mein Kampf
The Lord's Army is running round beheading people and kidnapping schoolgirls for forced marriages.
The KKK believe that they're followers of "God"
I'm sure you won't mind if I take issue with anyone who believes they can justify or excuse discriminatory or violent action on the basis of doing "god's work", no matter which "god" that may be.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Got it.
Fucking assholes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So what does this have to do with the number of homeless people on the streets or the price of rice in China. What, is this legislation going to increase the number of homeless people on the streets?
If anything trying to associate homeless people with attempts to pass this legislation may associate (but really doesn't show anything) the current lack of such legislation with so many homeless people. What, is the argument that this legislation is going to make even more homeless people?
Since the two are clearly unrelated or, at best, the police are arguing that the current lack of this legislation is responsible for so many homeless people and the mayor is trying to do something to change the current situation, it's despicable that these police are trying to use homeless people as the poster child for their totally unrelated bill. It's like me saying "there are starving people in India therefore the U.S. government should give me a million dollars". What, where do these people come up with this? This is more ridiculous (though perhaps not as despicable) as the shills around here that use artists as the poster child for their monopolistic laws.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I missed the video where the Mayor of New York decided to body slam a bicyclist.
I missed the video where the Mayor of New York pulled over an Uber driver and started to verbally berate him.
But now we are going to have videos made by the police, while on duty, and being paid with tax dollar, for the purpose of shaming the least powerful members of our society, just to score a few political points?
"We the good guys are sworn to protect our citizens" I don't think that phrase means what they think it means.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And the uptake of this event is:
They're not there to serve those wretched refuse or tempest-tost homeless or protect the people from actual criminal elements who would threaten people with harm or rob from them their belongings.
New York's Finest, indeed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]