YouTube Video Shows Ugly Side Of Police 'Stop And Frisk'

*Source: RT

Screenshot from YouTube video/Josh Moyo

As debate over the merits of “stop and frisk” policing continues, a new YouTube video has added fuel to the fire by revealing the disturbing tactics of two Philadelphia officers.

Titled “Police unlawful harassment and racial profiling,” the video is dated Sept. 27 and shows two pedestrians being stopped by police officers after saying “hi” to a third, unseen individual on the street.

"You don't say 'Hi' to strangers,"one officer, identified as Philip Nace by the Philadelphia Daily News, said as he confronts the two pedestrians and pushes one against the car. The other individual is recording the scene on his smartphone as it unfolds.

After Nace tells the man to put his phone away because he’s “under investigation,” the phone is set down but continues to record.


“Investigation of what? I was walking,” the man said, to which the officer replies,“That’s not what I saw … if you keep running your mouth I’ll split your wig open.”

 

The two go back and forth, with the man asking Nace why he’d been stopped, and Nace offering that he doesn’t know what information the police have on them.

“Are you accusing me of robbing somebody?” the pedestrian asks.

Screenshot from YouTube video/Josh Moyo

“I didn’t accuse you of anything,” Nace said.“I said we could’ve got a call, that somebody wearing the clothes you’re wearing just robbed somebody. That’s why we stopped you. Is that wrong of us?”
When asked if he’s permitted to grab pedestrians in this manner, Nace replies,“I’ll grab you any way I got to… Why don’t you shut up? Everyone thinks they’re a [expletive] lawyer and they don’t know jack [expletive].”
 
At one point, the officers attempt to justify their actions by claiming the two pedestrians were jaywalking. Nace also accuses the two pedestrians of “weakening the country” by “freeloading.”
 

Screenshot from YouTube video/Josh Moyo

The race of the two pedestrians is not clear in the video, but “stop and frisk” tactics are increasingly coming under fire as demeaning, and for unfairly targeting minorities without sufficient cause.

"This is exactly what the city of Philadelphia says its cops don't do," Mary Catherine Roper, senior staff attorney for the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Daily News.“The only way we stop it from happening is if the police department acknowledges that it does happen and takes steps to root it out."
 
In August, a federal judge ruled New York City’s “stop and frisk” policy unconstitutional on the grounds that it is a form of racial profiling.

Meanwhile, a new study released in September revealed that “stop and frisk” tactics are causing a large proportion of the public to mistrust the police. The lack of faith can become so severe that even those who are victimized become reluctant to report crimes.

Philadelphia Student Says Teacher Mocked Her For Wearing Romney Shirt

*Source: Philly Inquirer



A uniform-free "dress-down" day at Charles Carroll High School in Port Richmond turned into a public dressing down for a student who chose to wear a pink T-shirt supporting Mitt Romney for president.
Samantha Pawlucy, a sophomore at Carroll, said her geometry teacher publicly humiliated her Friday by asking why she was wearing a Romney/Ryan T-shirt and going into the hallway to urge other teachers and students to mock her.

"I was really embarrassed and shocked. I didn't think she'd go in the hallway and scream to everyone," Pawlucy said. "It wasn't scary, but it felt weird."

Pawlucy said she decided to wear the shirt after researching the candidate and President Obama and concluding that she was a Romney supporter. Her father, Richard, said she was especially interested in Romney's opposition to late-term abortion.

He said he recently registered to vote as an independent but was not involved in the Romney campaign.
Samantha Pawlucy said that after going into the hall, her teacher called into the classroom a nonteaching assistant who tried to write on the T-shirt with a marker. She allegedly told the teen to remove her shirt and said she would be given another.

Pawlucy said her teacher told her that Carroll was a "Democratic school" and that wearing a Republican shirt was akin to the teacher, who is black, wearing a KKK shirt.

The teacher could not be reached for comment. Fernando Gallard, spokesman for the School District of Philadelphia, said an investigation was ongoing. He said the student had the right to wear the T-shirt.

Samantha Pawlucy said she felt publicly humiliated by her teacher and was initially unsure how to respond.
"I just laughed because I was nervous," she said.

Her father said the girl was visibly upset when she returned home but at first did not want to tell her story for fear of retaliation from the school - suspension, being moved out of the class, or expulsion.

She said she also felt shunned by classmates because she reported the incident to the principal.
"I have some friends that won't talk to me anymore because of it," she said. "Because I told the principal what happened . . . they're mad at me."

Her parents met Monday with Joyce Hoag, the principal. Richard Pawlucy said that during the meeting, the teacher insisted she had been joking, then stormed out and left the school. He said he was told he could file an official complaint with the district, which he said he planned to do Thursday. He said he was also given the option of letting the principal handle the incident, with the teacher getting some form of training.

Gallard declined to identify the parties or confirm any details of the meeting. He said the investigation began "with the simple action of the parent calling the principal and complaining." An official complaint is required for the investigation to continue, he said.

When Samantha Pawlucy went back to her geometry class Tuesday, she said, she was shocked to find the teacher there. She claimed the teacher told the students she could no longer joke with them because a student had gotten her in trouble.

The teen said she was so upset by the teacher's comments that she left the classroom and hid in the bathroom until the end of class.

The roster was later rearranged so that the teacher remains in the school but is not teaching Pawlucy's class, the girl's father said. Gallard confirmed that the teacher was still teaching during the investigation but was no longer teaching that class.

The Pawlucy family has another student in the school, a freshman who also wore a Romney shirt and who also reported being belittled by classmates.

Richard Pawlucy said that after filing the complaint, he was not sure he would willingly work with the school again.

"I'm not sure what we're going to do from this point," he said. "I don't know if I should meet with the school again. I don't really think the principal is going to help us on this."

Gallard said that after the official complaint is received, the district would conduct a series of interviews over the next days, eventually determining whether there is sufficient evidence to move forward with disciplinary action.

Pawlucy was within her rights to wear the shirt on a "dress-down" day when nonuniform clothing "within reason" is permitted, Gallard said. He said he had not encountered a situation like this in 10 years as a district spokesman.

"It's a constitutional right. It's freedom of speech," he said.
A spokesman for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers declined to comment.