NYPD Sergeants Assoc. Using Flickr To Publicly Humiliate Homeless To Play Politics With Mayor De Blasio

from the cheap-shots dept

Thu, Aug 13th 2015 1:35pm — Timothy Geigner

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.

“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.

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.

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...

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Filed Under: bill de blasio, homeless, mayor, nyc, nypd, photographs, police, seargents benevolent association, shaming

32 Comments

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Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 1:56pm

Entrance Requirements
Remember that police exams exclude folks who are too intelligent for their service. This just goes to show that the best and then brightest of those allowed in are rising to the top.
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pacanukeha (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:05pm

Dear Mr. Mullins,
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.
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Binko Barnes (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:09pm

The existence of police unions serve absolutely no public interest.
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Baron von Robber, 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:13pm

I think I figured out a way to tell the bad cops from the rest.....

>>>Sergeants Benevolent Association
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:24pm

This will surely upgrade the image of the NYPD.
They've risen from overpaid thugs to overpaid bullies.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:30pm

So assuming that the homeless don't have smartphones or access the internet- is it humiliating someone if they don't know that pictures of them are being posted?
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lars626 (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:33pm

Family and friends?
And when the family and friends start taking pictures of the homeless I hope they won't mind too much if someone else takes pictures of them doing it. We could post them to a Flickr account. Maybe name it 'Stabbing the wounded'.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:53pm

Re:
That excuse shows a lack of empathy for ones fellow humans, and goes along with the idea that we are the good guys and would never murder anyone, so all our killings are justified self defence.
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avideogameplayer, 13 Aug 2015 @ 2:53pm

Response to: pacanukeha on Aug 13th, 2015 @ 2:05pm
You think they care?
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A Non-Mouse, 13 Aug 2015 @ 3:30pm

"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."

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.
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That One Other Not So Random Guy, 13 Aug 2015 @ 3:30pm

Re:
If a tree falls in the woods and no one saw or heard it; Did it really fall?
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Sheogorath (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 4:31pm

“As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph [people] 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.”
People were already doing that, then they got taken to court for interfering with those cops as they carried out their duties. ;)
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 4:55pm

As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph [cops] lying about everything, aggressive cops, cops urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 5:04pm

Karma is a wonderful thing and Lucifer's legions will fall. False pride cometh before the fall, and the bigger they are the harder they will. Many that are last shall be first.
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Sheogorath (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 5:12pm

Re:
I guess only the great get copied, huh? Yep, I got there twenty-two whole minutes before you.
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art guerrilla (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 5:18pm

Re:
oddly enough, the ONLY union NOT to be (generally) excoriated by reich wing, statist, and authoritarian blowhards who ordinarily insist all unions are eee-vil...
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
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V. Smith, 13 Aug 2015 @ 5:50pm

You mean the homeless have not experienced daily shame over living on the streets and begging for resources? I think the homeless deserve more attention than they get, because they're on the NY streets and subways (I live there) begging every day. It's horrid.
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NBC, 13 Aug 2015 @ 6:13pm

Pictures? What pictures?
The Sgts "Beneviolent" Flickr site now has "zero" photos.

With 129 followers, they are certainly poopular.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 6:39pm

Is anyone surprised
We're talking about NY. Where else can an entire generation or two of degenerate high school drops manage to come to power. Whoever gave these asshats guns and badges needs to be tarred and feathered.

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2015 @ 7:50pm

Urinating in Public
How about all the videos coming out lately of cops urinating on The Constitution?
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JoeCool (profile), 13 Aug 2015 @ 9:07pm

Re:
They're still in uniform?
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Techanon, 13 Aug 2015 @ 10:16pm

Re: Re:
If you ever read "Minor Gods" from Terry Pratchett you should know: There's always someone in the woods.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Aug 2015 @ 12:42am

"We, the ‘Good Guys,’ are sworn to protect our citizens."

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Aug 2015 @ 5:24am

NYPD - keepin it classy
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Aug 2015 @ 6:33am

So lemme get this straight...recording the cops is irritating to them, and puts "lives in danger," yet they have no problem recording these unfortunate homeless individuals, shaming them on the Internet because the mayor got the police unions' panties in a wad.

Got it.

Fucking assholes.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Aug 2015 @ 8:00am

"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."

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Aug 2015 @ 8:04am

Re:
or the poster child against their totally unrelated bill *
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J., 14 Aug 2015 @ 8:16am

I must have missed that video where the Mayor of New York choked a man to death because he thought he was selling a single cigarette.

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.
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Uriel-238 (profile), 14 Aug 2015 @ 2:23pm

And the uptake of this event is:
NYPD are there to sweep away NYC's tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free like so much cruft and settled lint to be regulated to the city dump.

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.
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That One Guy (profile), 14 Aug 2015 @ 7:43pm

Re:
Anyone who feels the need to remind people that they are the 'good guys' aren't, similar to how no-one who's actually honest will feel the need to tell you how honest they are.
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Stoatwblr (profile), 15 Aug 2015 @ 4:06am

Re: Re:
"oddly enough, the ONLY union NOT to be (generally) excoriated"

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.
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Stoatwblr (profile), 15 Aug 2015 @ 4:11am

Re:
"I'm sure the Nazis considered themselves the 'Good Guys'."

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.
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