New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams and legislative aide Kirsten Jon Foy say they had police permission to walk on a blocked-off sidewalk Monday while on their way to a post-West Indian Day parade event at the Brooklyn Museum. But police officers, apparently unaware that the two were city officials, threw them to the ground and handcuffed them. (See video here.)
They were released once their identities were confirmed, but they say their detention was evidence of stop-and-frisk policies that unfairly target black and Hispanic men. Rather than address those policies, Mayor Bloomberg has called the incident a "misunderstanding" and suggested that the men involved "have a beer together and work it out."
Read more at the Huffington Post.
In other news: America to Obama: 'Stand Up for Yourself.'