The Nation obtained audio of a stop-and-frisk carried out by the New York Police Department that is just the latest reminder the discriminatory and unprofessional way in which this controversial policy is often implemented. This type of story is, of course, not new at all, but that makes it no less jarring or outrageous:
From the Nation:
In the course of the two-minute recording, the officers give no legally valid reason for the stop, use racially charged language and threaten Alvin with violence. Early in the stop, one of the officers asks, "You want me to smack you?" When Alvin asks why he is being threatened with arrest, the other officer responds, "For being a fu***ng mutt." Later in the stop, while holding Alvin's arm behind his back, the first officer says, "Dude, I'm gonna break your fu**in' arm, then I'm gonna punch you in the fu**in' face." …
Alvin's treatment at the hands of the officers may be disturbing but it is not uncommon. According to their own stop-and-frisk data, the NYPD stops more than 1,800 New Yorkers a day. A New York Times analysis recently determined that more than 20 percent of those stops involve the use of force. And these are only the numbers that the Department records. Anecdotal evidence suggests both figures are much higher.
Read more and listen to the full audio at the Nation.