New York Attorney General Letitia James announced via Twitter that she’ll be launching an investigation into NYPD for allegations of discrimination on NYC subways.
Allegedly, NYC subways users of color have been discriminated against by police due to their race.
“I’m launching an investigation into the NYPD to determine if officers have illegally targeted communities of color on NYC subways through enforcement of fare evasion laws,” She tweeted.
Many users of the site quickly began replying with firsthand accounts of the discrimination.
She went on to say that she will pursue charges if the investigation finds evidence of the allegations.
“If NYers have been targeted because of the color of their skin, we will not hesitate to take legal action.” James continued.
Tensions have been rising for a number of years over the aggressive policing of the NYC subway station and the overly aggressive enforcement of fare evasion.
In a discrimination lawsuit filed in 2019, several officers gave sworn statements that a commander who assisted with overseeing part of the subway system in Brooklyn commanded officers to “target black and Hispanic commuters for low-level offenses,” according to the New York Times.
In November, a video was posted to social media showing NYC police aggressively handcuffing a Spanish speaking woman who was selling churros inside of a subway station.
Former NYC police officer, Edwin Raymond is one of a few officers suing the NYPD for discrimination. He became a whistleblower, exposing the departments “quota policing,” where officers are expected to issue a certain number of arrests and citations to people of color.
“I got tired of hunting black and Hispanic people,” Raymond revealed to the New York Times.
