Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot

Last updated
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot
DateSeptember 16, 1992
Location
New York City Hall and Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan, New York City
Caused byReaction to proposed civilian oversight of police and reaction to Mayor David Dinkins' view of police
GoalsPreventing Mayor David Dinkins and New York City Council from implementing police reform
MethodsRioting, protests, assault
Lead figures

Phil Caruso, Rudy Giuliani

Casualties
Charged 2

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot, also known as the City Hall Riot, was a rally organized and sponsored by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) held on September 16, 1992, to protest mayor David Dinkins' proposal to create a civilian agency to investigate police misconduct. [1] [2] Approximately 4,000 NYPD officers took part in a protest that included blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and jumping over police barricades in an attempt to rush City Hall. [3] Rioters were observed to be openly drinking, damaging cars, and physically attacking journalists from the New York Times on the scene. Rioters also chanted racial epithets towards the African-American Mayor Dinkins. The nearly 300 uniformed on-duty officers did little to control the riot. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Mayor Dinkins, who was not present at City Hall at the time, denounced the rally as "bordering on hooliganism" and accused PBA president Phil Caruso of inciting violence. Dinkins also accused Rudy Giuliani, who spoke at the rally, of inflaming tensions among rally attendees. [6] Of the nearly 10,000 participating officers, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly sanctioned 42 of them. [7]

Background

Police oversight

Citizen-activists in New York City had called for a civilian review board to exercise police oversight since the 1940s. Support for these measures grew following incidents of police brutality, particularly the 1943 police shooting of Robert Bandy and the 1964 murder of James Powell. In 1966, after Mayor John Lindsay modified the existing police-controlled review board to turn over power to civilian appointees, the PBA launched a successful campaign to defeat the changes through a ballot referendum. [8]

In 1992, Mayor David Dinkins, the city's first African American mayor, proposed a bill to change the leadership of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the oversight body that examined complaints of police misconduct, from half-cop–half-civilian to all civilian and make it independent of the New York Police Department. [9] The bill was proposed amid an increase in support for independent, civilian-led police oversight commissions following the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent acquittal of the police officers in the case earlier that year. [9]

Dinkins' relation with NYPD

While crime significantly decreased in New York City after 1993 when Mayor Guiliani was mayor, the city was still perceived as dangerous, and tensions between the Mayor Dinkins and the police increased, particularly following the 1991 Crown Heights Riot and the Washington Heights Riot in July 1992. Following the Washington Heights riot, fueled by the death of Jose “Kiko” Garcia, an undocumented Dominican person and illegally in the country was fatally shot by NYPD officer Michael O'Keefe, Dinkins attempted to diffuse tensions by inviting Garcia's family to Gracie Mansion. The city's police felt betrayed by Dinkins' embrace of Garcia; officers interviewed by city tabloids called Garcia a "drug dealer" in reference to his past drug conviction, and claimed Dinkins' actions showed favoritism toward Mr. Garcia and bias against the police. [10]

Events

Initial rally

The rally was organized and sponsored by the New York City PBA. The rally was called to protest Mayor Dinkins' proposal to create the citizen-led review board for police misconduct, as well as his handling of riots against the police in Washington Heights the previous summer, and his refusal to provide the NYPD with semi-automatic weapons. [6] The PBA obtained a permit for a protest confined to Murray Street, a road perpendicular to City Hall that was notable lined with Irish pubs. [9] An estimated 10,000 officers attended the rally, most of whom were bused in from around the city by the PBA.

Protestors began marching around City Hall Park at 10:00 a.m. EST, gathering around speeches from PBA President Phil Caruso, previous Mayoral candidate Rudy Giuliani, and NYPD officer Michael O'Keefe, who had recently cleared by a grand jury for his involvement in the shooting death of Jose "Kiko" Garcia that spurred the July riots in Washington Heights. [6] In a speech delivered via microphone, Giuliani said "The reason the morale of the police department of the City of New York is so low is one reason and one reason alone: David Dinkins!" [9]

Attendees alternated chants of "No justice! No police!" and "The Mayor's on Crack!", and donned t-shirts and signs with slogans like "Dear Mayor, have you hugged a drug dealer today," and "Dinkins, We Know Your True Color -- Yellow Bellied." [6] Some signs featured cartoon images depicting Dinkins with racial caricatures such as large lips and nose and an Afro, with several calling Dinkins a "washroom attendant." [9]

Escalation

The rally was originally contained to City Hall Park, but quickly started spilling out past the sawhorse barricades onto Broadway and Park Row. A crowd of 6,000 attendees remained engaged in a peaceful rally on Murray Street, however, by 10:50 a.m. EST a group of around 4,000 attendees—many of which had been drinking at the bars along Murray Street during the speeches—broke out in chants of "Take the hall! Take the hall!" before storming the barriers and into the parking lot in front of City Hall. Some officers jumped on and damaged parked cars. [6] Upon the deluge of rioters descending on City Hall, both Deputy Mayor Fritz Alexander and Acting Police Commissioner Ray Kelly summoned on-duty police officers to City Hall for crowd control. [9]

With the on-duty police called to City Hall, several thousand protesting officers marched down to the Brooklyn Bridge around 11:40 a.m. EST. Ten minutes later, around 2,000 protestors blocked traffic on the bridge in both directions until about 12:20 p.m. EST, when the crowd began to dissipate. By 12:30 p.m. EST, a handful of senior police commanders showed up to the bridge to provide crowd control, and traffic was reopened by 12:40 p.m. EST. [6]

By the time protesting officers reached the bridge, the riots turned violent. Several New York Times reporters and photographers were physically assaulted by officers; and a black cameraman for CBS News was repeatedly called "nigger" by several officers. [9] As police were leaving the protest, several off-duty officers assaulted a man on the subway who had stepped on one of the officer's feet. The man claimed that when he attempted to apologize, the offended officer tried to punch him, and that he cut the officer's face with a razor blade in self defense. Six officers then reportedly beat and kicked him, leaving the man with a broken jaw. [1] New York Post columnist Jimmy Breslin, who was covering the event, claimed he witnessed an officer in a PBA shirt saying to a female television reporter, "Here, let me grab your ass," as well as officers shouting racial epithets towards Mayor Dinkins. [9]

Aftermath

Arrests and inquiries

No arrests occurred at the scene of the riots. The riots spawned two inquiries; one was led by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and another by Acting Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. A caucus of African-American NYPD officers, including eventual Mayor Eric Adams, called for a special prosecutor, arguing that the DA's investigation would be tainted by police influence; Mayor Dinkins pushed back on calling for a special prosecutor. [9]

Of the estimated 10,000 officers involved in the protest and subsequent riot, 87 officers were later identified from witness accounts and visual images, and 42 officers faced disciplinary hearings for possible misconduct charges (but not criminal charges). Two of those officers were suspended; one on-duty officer charged with opening the barricades to protesters and uttering racial slurs, and one off-duty officer who had blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. Another 26 off-duty cops identified as blocking bridge traffic faced disciplinary proceedings. Among the 42 officers facing discipline were 13 on-duty officers assigned to control the crowd and a helicopter pilot who blared his chopper's horn in support of the protesters. [9] In addition, two officers who assaulted a man on the subway following the riot were charged with felony assault, leading to one conviction on a misdemeanor charge that led to the officer's dismissal. [1]

Reactions

Following the riot, Mayor Dinkins condemned the participating officers, saying "If some officers in full view of a camera and public and their superiors or officers would use racial slurs, yelling 'n-----s,' and some of the signs they were carrying ... I fear how they would behave when they are out in the streets." [9] Dinkins also blamed Giuliani for his involvement, who he claimed egged on the crowd for opportunistic purposes, saying "he's seizing upon a fragile circumstance in our city for his own political gain." [6] Acting Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that the riots and lack of arrests following it, "raised serious questions about the department's willingness and ability to police itself." [1]

Rudy Giuliani pushed back against Dinkins' accusation, saying that his comments were "desperate and offensive," and claimed that he had urged the rioters to move away from City Hall. [6] Giuliani sympathized with the rioters and blamed Dinkins for the unrest, saying "one of the reasons those police officers might have lost control is that we have a mayor who invites riots." [9]

PBA President Phil Caruso conceded that the protest "got out of hand", and blamed the riots and violence on both Mayor Dinkins and City Councilman Guillermo Linares, a Dominican-American representative the Washington Heights neighborhood who was critical of the police in the wake of the Garcia shooting and subsequent riots the previous July. However, Caruso sympathized with the actions of the rioting officers, saying "sometimes, in order to convey a message clearly and graphically, especially on the part of police officers, you have to see it, feel the intensity." [9]

CCRB

Despite objections from the PBA and NYPD, the CCRB was reorganized and made independent from the police department in July 1993. [1] Despite the rally's intention to dissuade support for the changes to the CCRB, the ensuing riots ultimately increased support for additional police oversight. City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr., who initially opposed Dinkins' plan to reform the CCRB, later supported a compromise bill on the proposal following the events of the riot. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Transit Police</span> Former law enforcement agency in New York City

The New York City Transit Police Department was a law enforcement agency in New York City that existed from 1953 to 1995, and is currently part of the NYPD. The roots of this organization go back to 1936 when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia authorized the hiring of special patrolmen for the New York City Subway. These patrolmen eventually became officers of the Transit Police. In 1949, the department was officially divorced from the New York City Police Department, but was eventually fully re-integrated in 1995 as the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department</span> Municipal police force of New York City

The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Dinkins</span> 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1994

David Norman Dinkins was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Heights riot</span> 1991 racial and antisemitic riot in Brooklyn, New York City

The Crown Heights riot was a race riot that took place from August 19 to August 21, 1991, in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City. Black residents attacked Orthodox Jewish residents, damaged their homes, and looted businesses. The riots began on August 19, 1991, after two children of Guyanese immigrants were unintentionally struck by a driver running a red light while following the motorcade of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of Chabad, a Jewish religious movement. One child died and the second was severely injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Kelly</span> American Commissioner

Raymond Walter Kelly is an American police officer who was the longest-serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first person to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly, a lifelong New Yorker, had spent 45 years in the NYPD, serving in 25 different commands and as Police Commissioner from 1992 to 1994 and again from 2002 until 2013. Kelly was the first man to rise from Police Cadet to Police Commissioner, holding all of the department's ranks, except for Three-Star Bureau Chief, Chief of Department and Deputy Commissioner, having been promoted directly from Two-Star Chief to First Deputy Commissioner in 1990. After his handling of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, he was mentioned for the first time as a possible candidate for FBI Director. After Kelly turned down the position, Louis Freeh was appointed.

The Mollen Commission is formally known as The City of New York Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department. Former judge Milton Mollen was appointed in June 1992 by then New York City mayor David N. Dinkins to investigate corruption in the New York City Police Department. Mollen's mandate was to examine and investigate "the nature and extent of corruption in the Department; evaluate the department's procedures for preventing and detecting that corruption; and recommend changes and improvements to those procedures".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in New York City</span>

Crime rates in New York City have been recorded since at least the 1800s. The highest crime totals were recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged, and then declined continuously from around 1990 and throughout the 2000s. As of 2023, New York City has significantly lower rates of gun violence than many other large cities. Its 2022 homicide rate of 6.0 per 100,000 residents compares favorably to the rate in the United States as a whole and to rates in much more violent cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans.

The Tompkins Square Park riot occurred on August 6–7, 1988 in Tompkins Square Park, located in the East Village and Alphabet City neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. Groups of "drug pushers, homeless people and young people known as squatters and punks," had largely taken over the park. The East Village and Alphabet City communities were divided about what, if anything, should be done about it. The local governing body, Manhattan Community Board 3, recommended, and the New York City Parks Department adopted a 1 a.m. curfew for the previously 24-hour park, in an attempt to bring it under control. On July 31, a protest rally against the curfew saw several clashes between protesters and police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board</span>

The NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) is a civilian oversight agency with jurisdiction over the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the largest police force in the United States. A board of the Government of New York City, the CCRB is tasked with investigating, mediating and prosecuting complaints of misconduct on the part of the NYPD. Its regulations are compiled in Title 38-A of the New York City Rules.

Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York Police union for NYPD police officers

The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlem riot of 1964</span> 1964 American riot

The Harlem riot of 1964 occurred between July 16 and 22, 1964. It began after James Powell, a 15-year-old African American, was shot and killed by police Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan in front of Powell's friends and about a dozen other witnesses. Hundreds of students from Powell's school protested the killing. The shooting set off six consecutive nights of rioting that affected the New York City neighborhoods of Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant. By some accounts, 4,000 people participated in the riots. People attacked the New York City Police Department (NYPD), destroyed property, and looted stores. Several protesters were severely beaten by NYPD officers. The riots and unrest left one dead, 118 injured, and 465 arrested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the New York City Police Department</span>

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) originates in the Government of New York City attempts to control rising crime in early- to mid-19th-century New York City. The City's reforms created a full-time professional police force modeled upon London's Metropolitan Police, itself only formed in 1829. Established in 1845, the Municipal Police replaced the inadequate night watch system which had been in place since the 17th century, when the city was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department corruption and misconduct</span> Overview of misconduct and corruption in the NYPD

Throughout the history of the New York City Police Department, numerous instances of corruption, misconduct, and other allegations of such, have occurred. Over 12,000 cases have resulted in lawsuit settlements totaling over $400 million during a five-year period ending in 2014. In 2019, misconduct lawsuits cost the taxpayer $68,688,423, a 76 percent increase over the previous year, including about $10 million paid out to two exonerated individuals who had been falsely convicted and imprisoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 New York City mayoral election</span>

The 1993 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 2. Incumbent Mayor David Dinkins ran for re-election to a second term, but lost in a rematch with Republican Rudy Giuliani.

Patrick J. Lynch is a New York City Police Department officer, and the former president of its union, the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, which he has served for six consecutive terms in office. He retired as union president at the end of June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department Strategic Response Group</span> Police unit in New York City

The New York Police Department's Strategic Response Group (SRG) is a unit of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) formed in 2015 for counter-terrorism and the policing of political protests. They maintain a bike squadron and are outfitted with anti-riot gear, rifles, and body armor. The unit has been criticized for its use of excessive force and mass arrests against political demonstrators protected under the First Amendment, disproportionately high numbers of complaints to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, among other things. Activists, the New York City Council, the New York City Department of Investigation, and organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the New York Civil Liberties Union, among others, have called for its regulation or disbandment.

100 Blacks In Law Enforcement That Care is an American New York City-based advocacy group which focuses on fighting injustices between the African American community and their interactions with the New York City Police Department (NYPD). This internal relations advocacy group speaks out against police brutality, racial profiling and police misconduct. They are composed of active duty and retired employees from within the department. They also support the black community with financial, educational and legal support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in New York City</span> 2020 civil unrest in New York City after the murder of George Floyd

George Floyd protests in New York City took place at several sites in each of the five New York City boroughs, starting on May 28, 2020, in reaction to the murder of George Floyd. Most of the protests were peaceful, while some sites experienced protester and/or police violence, including several high-profile incidents of excessive force. Looting became a parallel issue, especially in Manhattan. As a result, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was placed under curfew from June 1–7, the first curfew in the city since 1943. The protests catalyzed efforts at police reform, leading to the criminalization of chokeholds during arrests, the repeal of 50-a, and other legislation. Several murals and memorials were created around the city in George Floyd's honor, and demonstrations against racial violence and police brutality continued as part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement in New York City.

Michael Joseph Codd was an American law enforcement officer who served as New York City Police Commissioner from 1974 to 1977.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Shielded from Justice: New York: Civilian Complaint Review Board". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  2. ↑ "Police Unions Haven't Only Battled Bill de Blasio's City Hall". Observer. 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  3. ↑ Oliver, Pamela (18 July 2020). "When the NYPD Rioted – Race, Politics, Justice" . Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  4. ↑ Voorhees, Josh (2014-12-22). "Déjà Blue". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  5. ↑ Manegold, Catherine S. (1992-09-27). "Rally Puts Police Under New Scrutiny". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mckinley, James C. Jr. (1992-09-17). "Officers Rally And Dinkins Is Their Target". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  7. ↑ James, George (1992-09-29). "Police Dept. Report Assails Officers in New York Rally (Published 1992)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  8. ↑ Donovan, Kenneth (July 28, 2020). "Police and Protest: 1992 and Today". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Nahmias, Laura (October 4, 2021). "White Riot In 1992, thousands of furious, drunken cops descended on City Hall — and changed New York history". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  10. ↑ Finder, Alan (September 11, 1992). "The Washington Heights Case; In Washington Heights, Dinkins Defends Actions After Shooting". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.