Last week there was much rejoicing when Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, flanked by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, came out in support of ending the practice of arresting individuals for possessing small amounts of marijuana in public view.
The details here are very important. These arrests come in consequence of stop-and-frisk police powers — used across the country — otherwise known as a Terry stop (OK’d by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968) under which a cop may briefly detain a person upon reasonable suspicion of involvement in a crime but short of probable cause to arrest. When a search for weapons is also authorized, the procedure is known as a stop-and-frisk.
In the Bloomberg years in New York City, stop-and-frisks have gone through the roof. In 2002, when Bloomberg had only just stepped into the Mayor’s office, 97,296 New Yorkers were stopped by the police under stop and frisk. Out of those, 80,176 were totally innocent, 82 percent.
By 2009, 581,168 New Yorkers were stopped by the police. Of those, 510,742 were totally innocent; 310,611 were black, 55 percent; 180,055 were Latino, 32 percent; 53,601 were white, 10 percent; 289,602 were aged 14-24, 50 percent. For reference, according to the Census Bureau, there were about only 300,000 black men between the ages of 13 and 34 living in the city that year.
In 2011, the police stopped 685,724 New Yorkers. ?Of those, 605,328 were totally innocent, 88 percent; 350,743 were black, 53 percent; 223,740 were Latino, 34 percent; 61,805 were white, 9 percent; 341,581 were aged 14-24, 51 percent).
There are continued protests about New York City’s racist application of an already essentially racist law. Last week the New York Civil Liberties Union unveiled “Stop and Frisk Watch” — a free and innovative smartphone application that will enable New Yorkers to monitor police activity and hold the New York Police Department accountable for unlawful stop-and-frisk encounters and other police misconduct. But last week no public official was talking about stop and frisk. They were addressing the issue of what happens after the initiation of stop and frisk, when the person “complies” with an NYPD officer’s directive to “empty their pockets.” If up to 25 grams of marijuana stays out of view, that constitutes only a violation. If the cop forces the weed into public view, we’re looking at a misdemeanor, with potentially devastating career consequences for the target. Low-level arrests for possession of marijuana in New York have gone up from about 2,000 in 1990 to 50,684 arrests in 2011, more than for any other offense, according to an analysis of state data by Harry G. Levine, a sociologist at Queens College, cited in the New York Times.
From 2002 to 2011, New York City recorded 400,000 low-level marijuana arrests, according to Levine’s analysis. That represented more arrests than under Bloomberg’s three predecessors put together — a period of 24 years. Most of those arrested have been young black and Hispanic men, and most had no prior criminal convictions.
Cuomo is proposing that 25 grams or less of marijuana in public view will, if his bill passes the New York legislature, constitute only a violation, no longer a misdemeanor. Will the bill pass? The Democrats control the Assembly in New York. Late last week New York Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos announced his opposition to Gov. Cuomo’s proposal to standardize penalties for marijuana possession offenses in New York. Skelos told The New York Times that, “Being able to just walk around with 10 joints in each ear and it only be a violation, I think that’s wrong.” Just kidding, maybe. Perhaps the fix is in.
Obviously, anything that crimps the cops’ lawless actions is good. Maybe there are future Obamas who will be able to keep a misdemeanor off their record. But let’s retain our sense of reality. “Together, we are making New York fairer and safer, and ensuring that every New Yorker has access to a justice system that doesn’t discriminate based on age or color,” said Cuomo last week. Doesn’t discriminate? In the first three months of 2012, the police stopped 203,500 New Yorkers. Commissioner Kelly obviously didn’t feel he faced a mutiny by his men, an inventive lot when it comes to construing the law. Don’t forget. Drug policy in the U.S. is about social control. That’s the name of the game.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.