Allegra Kirkland
The effort to crack down on turnstile-jumpers is part of a broader policing strategy promoted by police commissioner Bill Bratton–and endorsed by Mayor Bill de Blasio–to go after so-called qualify of life issues as a deterrent to more serious forms of crime. Opponents argue that arresting massive numbers of individuals for minor infractions unfairly subjects poor and minority New Yorkers to harassment.
The attack on Ronald Johns certainly makes the case for the second argument; a 22-year-old African American man was pepper sprayed, choked and punched repeatedly for the nonviolent “crime” of not paying a $2.50 Metrocard fare.
Late last month, father-of-six Eric Garner was choked to death by an NYPD officer on a hot Staten Island street corner while his hands were cuffed behind his back. In the moments before his death, Garner, who was stopped by the police for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes, repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe!” but the illegal chokehold continued.
The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office recently ruled his death a homicide. Though the horrifying story understandably caused a media firestorm, the physical abuse of people held in police custody is far from an isolated incident. Here are three instances of police brutality that have been reported since Garner’s July 17th murder:
1. Just days after Garner’s death, video emerged of a man being forced into a chokehold and punched in the face by NYPD officers in an East Harlem subway station. As DNA Info reported, the man, Ronald Johns, had been stopped for entering the station through an exit gate instead of paying the fare.
The effort to crack down on turnstile-jumpers is part of a broader policing strategy promoted by police commissioner Bill Bratton–and endorsed by Mayor Bill de Blasio–to go after so-called qualify of life issues as a deterrent to more serious forms of crime.