Cops

Poll: New Yorkers Heart Police Commissioner

By Laura Jayne Martin Thu., Jan. 17 2013 at 4:41 PM
Categories: "Politics", Cops

raykelly200.jpeg
Everybody loves Raymond. A Quinnipiac University survey of 1,332 residents of New York City made public today gives the commissioner a record high 75% approval rating. This is Kelly's highest rating to date.

A large majority of voters--across gender, race and party lines--would prefer that Ray Kelly remain Police Commissioner under the city's next mayor. Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating was 56% in the same poll. However, we're pretty sure that would have been higher if they were looking at a picture of him in a sweater. (It's called Hampton's chic, look it up.)

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NYPD Beat Downs

New York Pols Wonder How Many NYPD Beatings Aren't Caught on Tape

By James King Tue., Oct. 16 2012 at 12:10 PM
Categories: Cops, NYPD Beat Downs

As we reported yesterday, a Crown Heights man was roughed up by a NYPD officers because they mistakenly thought he was trespassing when they found him sleeping on a couch in a synagogue and outreach center for troubled youth in Crown Heights.

Following the two-minute-long beat-down -- during which he was punched in the head, pepper-sprayed, and beaten with a club -- he was hit with a felony charge of assaulting a police officer, as well as four misdemeanor charges and four violations, including trespassing, resisting arrest, and harassment.

Luckily, the beating was caught on tape, and it's clear the victim, Ehud Halevi, never assaulted anyone. Nor was he trespassing -- or harassing -- anyone. He was asleep.

The incident has prompted local pols to question how many similar beatings -- and BS criminal charges -- occur but are never questioned; in most cases, it's the word of a suspected criminal versus that of a cop -- a scenario where the cop wins almost every time.


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dov hikind, ehud halevi, jumanne williams, nypd, police brutality
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NYPD

NYPD: A (Video) History of Violence

By James King Tue., Oct. 16 2012 at 6:08 AM
Categories: Cops, NYPD

Two NYPD officers were caught on video beating the crap out of a young Jewish man because they mistakenly thought he was trespassing when they found him sleeping on a couch in a synagogue and outreach center for troubled youth in Crown Heights.

The video is shocking, but it's not even close to the first time New York City cops have been caught on camera acting like goons even after a suspect is on the ground -- and in some cases, in handcuffs.

Below we've embedded several videos of other instances of cops taking things way too far -- hopefully to remind the bad apples that the cameras might be rolling the next time they consider thugging out on the citizens they're supposed to protect.


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Cops

Slain Guardsman Posthumously Promoted To Sergeant; Investigation Into Shooting Continues

By James King Mon., Oct. 15 2012 at 8:31 AM
Categories: Cops, NYPD
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Sergeant Noel Polanco
The National Guardsman fatally shot by an NYPD detective earlier this month was laid to rest on Friday. He also got a promotion.

Guardsman Noel Polanco held the rank of specialist in life. Friday, he was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

"This is a promotion for outstanding accomplishments and service," First Sgt. Gregory Sinclair reportedly told hundreds of mourners at the Eternal Love Baptist Church in Corona, Queens, on Friday.

Reverend Al Sharpton gave the eulogy at Polanco's funeral, noting in his address that the 22-year-old soldier hoped to someday be an NYPD officer.

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al sharpton, hassan hamdy, noel polanco, nypd, officer involved shooting, ray kelly
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NYPD

NYPD Detective Who Shot Unarmed Guardsman Claims Shooting Was Justified -- He Was Scared

By James King Tue., Oct. 9 2012 at 8:58 AM
Categories: Cops, NYPD
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Deceased National Guardsman Noel Polanco
Here's what we know about last week's officer-involved shooting that left an unarmed National Guardsman dead: there were two police vans full of cops who pulled over reservist Noel Polanco. He had no weapon at the time of the shooting, and witnesses say he had his hands on the steering wheel the entire time.

Additionally, two witnesses -- one of whom is an NYPD officer who claims she was sleeping in the back of Polanco's car at the time of the shooting -- say that immediately after the shooting, officers at the scene told them "your friend shot himself."

Despite the small army of cops on the scene, and the fact that Polanco had no visible weapon -- or any weapon at all, it turns out -- the NYPD detective who fatally shot him, 14-year NYPD veteran Hassan Hamdy, claims he feared for his life; he says he was justified in shooting Polanco and is "eager" to tell his side of the story.

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hassan hamdy, noel polanco, nypd, officer involved shooting, ray kelly
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Cops

NYPD Shooting of Unarmed National Guardsman Noel Polanco Described As Act of "Police Road Rage"

By James King Fri., Oct. 5 2012 at 9:10 AM
Categories: Cops, NYPD
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National Guardsman Noel Polanco was fatally shot by police yesterday morning. He was unarmed at the time.
The early morning shooting of an unarmed National Guardsman by an NYPD officer is being investigated by the Queens District Attorney's Office after a witness to the shooting describes the incident as a case of "police road rage."

Noel Polanco, 22, was fatally shot about 5:15 a.m. yesterday after weaving through traffic and cutting of two NYPD vans on the Grand Central Parkway, near Exit 7 and LaGuardia Airport.

After he was pulled over, NYPD Detective Hassan Hamdy approached the passenger-side door -- and that's when details get confusing.

Police initially said Polanco reached under his seat, at which point Hamdy fired once, hitting him in the torso.

But one of two witnesses to the shooting gives a much different account.

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hassan hamdy, noel polanco, nypd, officer involved shooting
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Cops

NYPD Officer Shoots Unarmed National Guardsman: A Lot of Questions, No Answers

By James King Fri., Oct. 5 2012 at 6:08 AM
Categories: Cops, NYPD
polanco2.jpg
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Noel Polanco was fatally shot by an NYPD officer yesterday. He was unarmed at the time.
An NYPD officer fatally shot an unarmed National Guardsman early yesterday morning, and the agency is yet to offer a reasonable explanation as to how it happened.

The dead soldier is 22-year-old Noel Polanco. He was pulled over about 5:15 a.m. yesterday after he was seen weaving in and out of traffic on the Grand Central Parkway, near Exit 7 and LaGuardia Airport.



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noel polanco, nypd, officer involved shooting, queens
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Cops

Unarmed Man Shot By NYPD Officer Identified As National Guardsman Noel Polanco

By James King Thu., Oct. 4 2012 at 4:12 PM
Categories: Cops, NYPD
polanco.jpg
NBC New York
Noel Polanco is reportedly the man fatally shot by an NYPD officer this morning. Polanco, at the time, was unarmed.
A local media outlet has identified the unarmed man gunned down by an NYPD officer early this morning as 22-year-old National Guardsman Noel Polanco.

The Voice was unable to independently confirm the man's identity, but NBC New York says Polanco had returned home from an overseas tour "a while back" before he was fatally shot this morning by police.

The man reported to be Polanco was pulled over about 5:15 a.m. today after he was seen weaving in and out of traffic on the Grand Central Parkway, near Exit 7 and LaGuardia Airport.

Once stopped, the officer asked Polanco to show his hands. Polanco, however, reached under the seat, which is when the officer fired a single shot into his stomach. He died about 30 minutes later. No weapon was found in the vehicle -- just a power drill.


 
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NYPD

NYPD Officer Shoots Unarmed Motorist As Off-Duty Cop Supposedly Slept In The Backseat

By James King Thu., Oct. 4 2012 at 1:40 PM
Categories: Cops, NYPD
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An NYPD officer fatally shot an unarmed motorist in Queens this morning, as an off-duty cop supposedly slept in the backseat of the car driven by the now-deceased 22-year-old driver.

The unidentified motorist was pulled over about 5:15 a.m. today after he was seen weaving in and out of traffic on the Grand Central Parkway, near Exit 7 and LaGuardia Airport.

Once stopped, the officer asked the driver to show his hands. The driver, however, reached under the seat, which is when the officer fired a single shot into his stomach. The driver died about 30 minutes later. No weapon was found in the vehicle -- just a power drill.

Again, an off-duty officer was supposedly sleeping in the back seat of the car the entire time -- she claims she didn't witness the shooting.

Yes, it sounds a little odd to us, too.

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nypd, officer involved shooting, queens
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Cops

Knife-Wielding Harlem Man Fatally Shot by Cops After Taser, Rubber Bullets Fail to Do the Trick

By James King Wed., Sep. 26 2012 at 8:50 AM
Categories: Cops
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For the second time in less than two months, an NYPD officer fatally shot a man who was carrying a knife -- but that was only after repeatedly zapping him with Tasers and shooting him with rubber bullets.

Before we go sounding the excessive-force alarms, it should be noted that the deceased perp slashed at least two of the officers with a 12-inch kitchen knife -- it wasn't until he tried a third time that police shot him with real bullets.

The incident happened about 6:30 p.m. yesterday when the man's mother -- who is visiting him from Guinea for his birthday, which is in a few days -- called police to his apartment on Morningside Avenue near West 124th Street in Harlem. The mother told dispatchers that her son, 28-year-old Mohamed Bahh, had grabbed the knife and locked himself inside the apartment.

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darrius kennedy, mohamed bahh, nypd, shooting, taser
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