Reibman & Weiner has been litigating civil rights for nearly 20 years.
Today the New York Times reported what we at Reibman & Weiner have long suspected: That the level of police intrusion into the lives of African-American and Hispanic members of our community is at an all time high.
Targeted policing is meant to put officers in high crime areas. But it seems that every resident of a high crime neighborhood is being targeted by the police procedure known as “stop and frisk.”
In 2009, there were nearly 600,000 such stop and frisk events reported by City cops. The most common reason given for stopping and frisking so many people was that the person targeted engaged in “furtive movements.” Do you think the average cop who is doing the stop and frisk and writing the report knows the definition of the word “furtive”? My Webster’s Dictionary defines furtive as “expressive of stealth.” So all of us who glance over our shoulder or walk with our heads down or look side to side or walk in one direction then reverse course suddenly may be considered to be engaged in furtive movements and subject to police questioning.
And what happens if the police engage in their inquiry of you and you rightfully refuse to speak with them? In our experience, this leads to an aggressive response with the police escalating the intrusion with the use of physical force and the power of arrest and incarceration. Mostly, we find that the cops do this to teach a lesson: cooperate with us or face the consequences. The cops even have a name for it. It’s called bullpen therapy. That’s when they arrest someone for no reason and the arresting officer knows the person will be released after about 24 hours of incarceration.
We have represented hundreds of people who have done nothing wrong, have been arrested and spent 24 to 36 hours and longer locked up and then sent home without ever being charged with a crime or violation of law of any sort. While in policy custody our innocent clients have been refused telephone calls, refused the use of medically necessary medicines, refused medical attention, have been taunted and subject to degrading comments by the police and have been subjected to unlawful strip searches.
When you or someone you know has been the subject of an NYPD stop and frisk, police brutality, or false arrest for no reason, your constitutional rights have been violated. You are entitled to seek monetary compensation by bringing a claim against the police and the City of New York based on the violation of your rights. We do this for clients every day. We have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients based on constitutional violations by the City of New York and the NYPD.
Call us first. We can help. Don’t settle for less. 1-718-522-1743
www.ReibmanWeiner.com
