This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
Racial Disparities in NYPD Social Distancing Enforcement Raise Concerns ¶
Published on May 8, 2020
As the city struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has been enforcing social distancing rules in public spaces. However, recent incidents have raised concerns about racial disparities in the enforcement of these rules.
According to statistics released by the Brooklyn district attorney's office, 40 people were arrested for social distancing violations between March 17 and May 4. Of those arrested, 35 were black, four were Hispanic, and one was white.
More than a third of the arrests were made in the predominantly black neighborhood of Brownsville, while no arrests were made in the more white Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has denied allegations of a racist double standard, stating that the enforcement of social distancing rules is not comparable to the 'stop and frisk' practices of the past. However, some black elected officials and critics of the NYPD have expressed concerns that social distancing is being used as a pretext to stop and arrest people in poorer neighborhoods.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, has expressed concern about policing tactics that resemble the unfair practices of 'stop and frisk.' He warned that unleashing a new era of overly aggressive policing of communities of color in the name of social distancing would be a 'toxic combination' of illness, unemployment, and hunger.
Commissioner Dermot F. Shea has stated that each incident should be reviewed in the 'totality of the circumstances' and that some of the people who had not complied with police orders to disperse had been arrested before.
As the city continues to grapple with the pandemic, concerns about racial disparities in NYPD social distancing enforcement remain a pressing issue.
