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| Ithaca police sergeant pulls gun on 4 minority teens; mayor calls for investigation (1225885) | |||
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Ithaca police sergeant pulls gun on 4 minority teens; mayor calls for investigation |
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Posted by streetcarman1 on Sun Sep 14 21:22:48 2014, in response to No riots. No protests. No lootings., posted by Dave on Sun Sep 7 07:35:01 2014. This happened recently in the Finger Lakes area.....notice when the non-uniformed cop was called at home, the dispatcher never said any explicit details of the perpetrator, the cop just assumed they were Black and not White:http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/ithaca_police_sergeant_pulls_gun_on_4_unarmed_minority_teens_mayor_calls_for_inv.html Ithaca police sergeant pulls gun on 4 minority teens; mayor calls for investigation on August 16, 2014 at 8:13 AM, updated August 16, 2014 at 12:41 PM By Jacob Pucci ITHACA, N.Y. -- An Ithaca police sergeant pulled his gun on four 15-year-olds in the city on August 9 and now Mayor Svante Myrick says two separate investigations into the incident will be conducted. The investigations come amid controversy that the incident was racially-motivated. The officer, who has not been identified, is white, while the four detained are "of color," Myrick said in a statement. The four were being pursued in connection with two arsons that occurred within 40 minutes of each other earlier that night. The first occurred around 10:15 p.m. in the 400 block of North Albany Street, in a parking lot next to the Greater Ithaca Activities Center swimming pool. At 10:44 p.m., officers were called again to an arson, this time in the 400 block of North Geneva Street, only one block away from the first. There they found a 1992 GMC Sierra pickup truck on fire. Both vehicles were deemed total losses, police said. Patrol saw a group of people riding bicycles in the area where the two arsons occurred and a shift commander ordered officers to stop the group "for the purpose of ascertaining their identity, and to inquire if they had any information related to the recent criminal activity," police said in a statement. The sergeant, who had been called from his home and was driving his personal vehicle, initially spotted the four on Esty Street, city police said. He called for marked patrol vehicles to respond, but upon hearing sirens, the group fled on bicycles south onto South Plain Street, police said. From there, the group fled on foot toward the intersection of Cleveland Avenue, where the sergeant again spotted them and ordered them to stop, but they continued running, police said. When the sergeant exited his vehicle, however, the group turned around and came closer to him, police said. At this point, the sergeant unholstered his weapon, pointed it in "a safe direction," and ordered them to the ground, police said. A statement issued by the Ithaca Police Department makes no mention of anyone in the group being armed. The sergeant was not in uniform at the time, Myrick said. Police cited the sergeant not knowing the intent or identity of the group, who had initially ignored orders to stop, as reasons why the gun was drawn. Parents came to the scene and took custody of the teens, police said. Myrick met with the parents of the teens, who addressed three major concerns: the sergeant drawing his weapon, the sergeant being out of uniform and in an unmarked car and possible racial bias, he said in a statement, adding that he takes their concerns "extremely seriously." Someone close to the incident told The Ithaca Voice that at least two of the teens are black. Ithaca Police Chief John Barber, Alderperson JR Clairborne, GIAC Director Marcia Fort, and GIAC employee Travis Brooks were also at the meeting, Myrick said. An internal investigation into the incident was immediately launched and is being conducted by Deputy Chief of Professional Standards Christopher Townsend, Myrick said. A second, independent investigation will also be conducted by the Community Police Board. "As a black man, I'm well aware of the history of violence between the police and young men of color - see most recently the tragedy in Ferguson, MO - and motivated to ensure that this pattern does not play out in our city," Myrick said in a statement. |
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