Sgt. Edwin Raymond was all set to be promoted to lieutenant. He was number 26 out of 1,325 sergeants who took the lieutenants test. But he claims his support for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest to shine a light on the injustice and inequality in communities of color cost him his promotion.
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“It is unfortunate. I did a press conference in support of Colin Kaepernick, using his status to put a spotlight on issues in policing that need to be fixed,” Raymond, 33, told The New York Daily News. “Because of the controversy a lot of cops criticized him. Me being aligned with him was seen as standing with the enemy.”
Raymond told the news that he was supposed to be promoted until questionable allegations were filed by cops noting his “handling of two domestic violence complaints,” he says.
Raymond explained to The Daily News exactly where the complaint stems from.
The allegations against him date to Sept. 17, 2017. Cops with PSA 2 in Brooklyn North responded to a domestic violence call. The claim is that a woman saw an ex-boyfriend and called 911. When the cops got there, they checked their phone and saw an order of protection, and Raymond let him go.
“That’s nonsense,” Raymond said.
According to Raymond, what actually happened was that the man was sitting in his vehicle with his current girlfriend when the ex, who he has three kids with, walked by. She took a bat and broke his car mirror. He fled from the car and called 911. The enraged ex then ran into her mother’s building.
Raymond says he arrived at the scene and spoke with the man, who asked the cop not to arrest her. “She’s the mother of my kids,” the man said. “The damage to my car won’t cost anything.”
Raymond says he told the responding officers not to arrest him. The cops then said the woman has an order of protection against him and wanted to arrest him, according to Raymond. The man also had 20 prior arrests.
Raymond says he made a judgment call — based on the circumstances of the incident that day, there was no reason to arrest him.
“I said, ‘That doesn’t change today’s circumstances,’” Raymond said. “It was nonsense. They (the cops) completely manipulated the situation...They turned the woman into the victim.”
Raymond said the cops then went to Internal Affairs.
“These cops went thinking the numbers would give their claims more plausibility, and unfortunately the department is choosing to entertain this and use it as a dagger to end my promotion,” Raymond said. “They are not happy with me. I don’t enjoy having to speak out, but it’s historically what makes the department budge.”
Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, told the Daily News that the police department has a history of selective enforcement against certain officers.
“Decisions are made on the sly, and there are people who have pending charges and still get promoted, and others whose promotions are held back for reasons that are never explained,” Mullins said. “If this doesn’t appear to be retaliation, then I don’t know what is.”
The NYPD declined to comment to the Daily News but a senior police official did claim that the department has received complaints against Raymond’s and his “conduct in enforcing orders of protection and is looking into the allegations.”
“The department takes domestic violence very seriously and is obligated to look at these incidents,” the official said.
But it’s not just Kaepernick, Raymond has been vocal about the NYPD’s application of the law and how its overly aggressive policing doesn’t help their image in the community.
“Quota-driven broken windows policing causes more collateral damage — arrests and summonses for their own sake,” he said. “It doesn’t affect crime.”
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