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CNN Special Reports
Black in America: Black and Blue
Aired December 05, 2014 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did nothing wrong. I did nothing. I did nothing wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This police array is crazy. They have nobody trusting so I decided to pull out my camera every time they come over here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: New York City Police Officers are about to take down Eric Gardner. He's suspected of selling loosies or loose cigarette.
ERIC GARDNER: I have not. Every I turn around you grab me. You say I'm selling them all. I assume you said cigarette. To whom? You treat me nothing me because you said I did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At any point it could be you. It could be your love ones. It could be your brother, your sister, your uncle, your cousin, your friend.
O'BRIEN: Police say enforcement like this designed to discourage more serious crime by shutting down petty crime. They will not comment on this particular case.
GARDNER: Please don't touch me. No touching, please. Do not touch me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things like this happen to us too often. If I see the lights and sirens I sense something, I get worried.
O'BRIEN: The officers are only supposed to arrest someone if they have evidence of a crime. A cell phone capture policing spinning out of control. Gardner is on the sidewalk struggling against an apparent choke hold. By the end of this video he'll be dead.
GARDNER: I can't breath. I can't breath. I can't breath. I can't breath. I can't breath.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the most horrible feeling that a mother could feel.
O'BRIEN: Why do they have these quid lights up?
TERRENCE MCCALL: These giant lights.
O'BRIEN: Yes, these quite bright lights.
MCCALL: It a part of the housing initiative of high visible patrol, like the expression you don't want to meet somebody in a dark alley. You get rid of the dark alleys you get rid of people hiding in dark alleys.
O'BRIEN: On New York streets there is a battle unfolding of black versus blue. African Americans pushing back against aggressive policing and police like Lieutenant Terrence McCall pushing back against crime.
What do you think the relationship in this neighborhood with the Police Department?
MCCALL: It depends on the person. Some people are still (inaudible) that were here. Some guys will tells us to our face that they hate us. They don't want us here.
O'BRIEN: This neighborhood is Bedford-Stuyvesant. Officer Darrell Calhoun was assigned here fresh from the academy.
Have you ever been afraid on the job?
DARRELL CALHOUN, 79TH PRECINCT, BROOKLYN: Yes. There's times where you are alone and you don't know what to do sometimes, you know, you're out on the street in the middle of the night when all the bad things can happen, when all the bad tends to happen. It's just natural to have some type of fear in you.
O'BRIEN: A rookie cop was shot by suspect in Bed-Stuy a month ago.
CALHOUN: Is it locked though?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CALHOUN: I'm going to check it.
O'BRIEN: So most dangerous hours, in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods. Why would you possibly want that job?
CALHOUN: Because it's about giving to the community. I want people to know that their safe.
O'BRIEN: I have been talking to handful of these young guys. They would feel like they get stopped over and over again. And they're just going back and forth to the gym or to school.
MCCALL: The guys who say that to me are the right guys had been stopped. They might say that to try and they feel that we're stopping them. But I find that the guys that I stopped have nice lengthy arrest records. So I'm stopping the right people. Maybe I didn't catch them at the time doing the crime, but they are criminals.
O'BRIEN: Keeshan Harley has never been in legal trouble. But he says police have stopped him more than 100 times.
KEESHAN HARLEY I first got stopped frisk when I was 13. They say I say I fit a description. That's -- I would say 9 times out of 10 the excuse they give me. What's the description? A young, black male 18 to 25.
O'BRIEN: He's 19 years old and lives in the same community where Lieutenant McCall leads patrols, Bedford-Stuyvesant.
HARLEY I have been stopped over 100 times. It does all blur together at some point. But there are those extreme instances where it's kind of hard to forget.
O'BRIEN: Keeshan (ph) is sophomore in college. He lives with his mother Sophia (ph).
HARLEY I'm just coming home from school and a cop slams against the wall behind my back. Throw the stuff out of my bag, just calling me derogatory terms like nigger. And he doesn't even let me pull out my wallet to show him who I am. To show him I go to this school right here. It messes with you psychologically. It messes with you emotionally. It's scary.
SOPHIA HARLEY It was becoming too much where he's coming home not wanting to go to school. I've worked so hard to make sure that he went to college and he's focused on his future. To have harassment be the reason he doesn't want to continue? It was like it broke my heart.
O'BRIEN: New York Police say the stop and frisk policy helped save lives especially in minority communities where most crime occurs.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The New York City Police Department's controversial stop and frisk policy...
WILLIAM BRATTON, COMMISSIONER OF NEW YORK: We go to where the reports of crime are.
O'BRIEN: From 2002 to mid-2013 New York City Police reported making nearly five million stops.
ANDESON COOPER: If this was happening in predominantly white neighborhoods, wealthy neighborhoods, do you think people would stand for it?
O'BRIEN: More than 80 percent of the people stopped by police were Black and Latino.
S. HARLEY I don't sleep until he comes home quite frankly. And I know he is not in cuffs or in anybody's morgue.
You are OK this weekend when you went out? You didn't get stopped? Babe, you are this weekend when you went out? You didn't end up in a cop car for an hour like you didn't tell me about last time?
HARLEY: No, I didn't.
S. HARLEY: The fact that it happens just about every single day is overwhelming. And I can lead you to loss your head. But then your future ends.
HARLEY: It's hard to stay calm when you got somebody slamming your face against the wall.
S. HARLEY: What's the alternative, Baby? I'm almost about the alternative. What's the alternative?
HARLEY: What's the alternative?
S. HARLEY: You're going to punch the cop back?
HARLEY: I'm not going to punch the cop back. But it's like you want me to stay calm like...
S. HARLEY: I do.
HARLEY: How am I suppose to stay calm when their slamming my head?
S. HARLEY: Because that's what do.
HARLEY: How do I stay calm when they're me holding me on the floor.
S. HARLEY: The same way - you stay away more and then stay calm when dogs is biting them. The same way he had to stay calm when this house is being set on fire.
I've been saying for whole life only animals use the uproars. A man fights with his mind.
O'BRIEN: In 2013 a Federal Judge ruled that this style of policing was violating the constitutional rights of minorities. 88 percent of those five million stops had gone no where, with no arrest or summons, no evidence of any crime.
Bill DE BLASIO, New York CITY MAYOR: Today you spoke out loudly and clearly for a new direction for our city.
O'BRIEN: As the city faced a court order to reform stop and frisk policing, a new mayor was ushered in. He promised to rebuild trust between police and minority community.
BLASIO: I'm appointing Bill Bratton as the next Police Commissioner of the City of New York.
O'BRIEN: In surprise move the new Mayor named Bill Bratton his Police Commissioner, the same Commissioner who led NYPD years ago when stop and frisk first became a popular policing tool.
What mistakes were made for stop and frisk?
BRATTON: The public was feeling that the minority community was being impacted too much and my sense was that as crime was going down on the city the number of stops should have been going down also.
O'BRIEN: Was public perception really the problem? And would fewer police stops be enough to repair a broken trust.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five officers line up around me. The tallest officer he tells me, "Are you some type of tough guy?" When I turned around he punches me in the face and screams, "He's resisting arrest."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm scared for my kids, every time they step out the door.
O'BRIEN: And who are you scared of?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police.
(COMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A fresh crop of police officers is being sworn in. They will become part of the nation's largest police force.
BRATTON: Raise your right and repeat after me. I do hear by pledge and declare...
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: I do hear by pledge and declare...
BRATTON: To faithfully discharge my duties.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: To faithfully discharge my duties.
O'BRIEN: A chance for the NYPD to restart its relationship with New York City's 8.4 million residents.
BRATTON: So help me God.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: So help me God.
BRATTON: Congratulations.
O'BRIEN: These are the first recruits under the new commissioner.
BLASIO: As you all know the principal reason for the existence of the police is to prevent crime and disorder. And my promise to the families that to the best of our abilities each day they will return to you feeling good about themselves and about the police profession. Congratulations on this very exciting day.
O'BRIEN: Most of these 600 officers will join operation impact deployed like a blue army into high crime neighborhoods including Bedford-Stuyvesant's 79th precinct where we find Lieutenant Terence McCall.
MCCALL: (inaudible)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes sir.
MCCALL: You have impact post 20. Moran (ph)?
MORAN (PH): Yes sir.
MCCALL: 24. Sasinova (ph)?
SASINOVA (PH): Here sir.
MCCALL: Did I say that correctly?
SASINOVA (PH): Yes sir.
MCCALL: You have impact post 31. All right guys if there's no questions, I'll turn over to Captain (inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, just a couple of things. We got shots fired this morning on Wilkie (inaudible) Boulevard, so just be aware. You know, like I told you guys, it's your first day, you got to be really for anything. That's it, fall out.
O'BRIEN: The rookies go out off in groups of three and four unto the streets of Bed-Stuy, a crime in his predominantly minority community is falling but remains among the highest in the city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon, Ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have a good day.
O'BRIEN: On their third day on the job many of them are still getting to know the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of these cops are not from Brooklyn, you know what I'm saying? So therefore it takes them a minute to activate themselves into the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adjust to the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adjust to the community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's called mentality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a video of you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got the feeling not everybody likes us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came from on the type of environment where hoodlums are on your side of the street and the cops is on the other side. Now it's time for us to get together as a community. You see walking around is not everything? What's important for them to do is speak to people, get to know the people that their going to be protecting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's only about arrest or something insist. It's about interacting with the community and showing that we're also people, you know, we're humans. We understand what they go through, so we have to help them out, you know. O'BRIEN: Before the Federal ruling, rookie cops were the ones making most of the unjustified stops. One response to have supervisors like Lieutenant McCall spend more time with Rookies.
MCCALL: What's the question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this one guys, yeah, you know, he possible we have so much to each other. They wasn't sure what they saw. They were asking me, you know, if they can go ahead and, you know, kind of like search them. So I told them, "you know, we can't do that." OK.
MCCALL: Absolutely. You still continue walk because you'll (inaudible) suspension at some point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, and he said if we don't get today like, you know.
MCALL: Exactly and unless you saw it, you can't guess. If you go search for drugs that's just the rules, all right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Have the rules changed about stop and frisk?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rules have not changed. You can't stop someone for no reason. (inaudible) suspicion is sort of different, it's where I think you committed a crime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) is wearing a black shirt, white cap, approximately 23 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody calls 911 for example and then say listen this guy robbed me and this guys is a black, 5'8" wearing a white shirt and we see someone fitting that description in the corner we're going to stop him but not really...
O'BRIEN: Why have rookies flood the streets in the areas where there's a lot of street crime. To me it seems almost like a potential for a problem.
BRATTON: What people in this city tend to forget is that police department is reduced by 6,000 officers. Commissioner Kelly to deal with that loss came up with a very good idea. Well let's take these twice a year in this class throughout the academy. We will search what Petraeus did in Iraq. Well we're search in our worse crimes areas. Good idea except I think the mistake was that these kids - the newest kids with no experience really didn't know the job yet. And that's what we're trying to correct.
O'BRIEN: Luis Paulino experienced that era of policing.
Tell me a little bit about where we are in East New York.
LUIS PAULINO: So first was little Baghdad because of the murder rates and a lot of violence happens and that included the police.
O'BRIEN: So when you were beaten up now couple of years ago, I know it's painful for you. Do you mind walking me through that day?
PAULINO: Every time I'm asked about the incident, I close my eyes and I could see myself there again.
O'BRIEN: In August 2012 he saw police stop a young black man for riding his bike on the side walk. The routine stop suddenly turned violent.
PAULINO: Well officers started arriving unto the scene. They beat his legs. They maced him. They teased him.
O'BRIEN: Why were you so interested in the color of the skin if you didn't know?
PAULINO: I mean honestly the kid could have been my brother. So I just wanted to make sure that he was all right.
O'BRIEN: The police asked Luis (ph) to move away. He says he did.
PAULINO: They yelled at me when I got right here and they said stop right there. Where do you think you're going to?
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
PAULINO: So I stopped.
O'BRIEN: Right.
PAULINO: And I turn around. Five officers line up around me. Tallest officer he tells me, "Are you some type of tough guys?" He tried to grab my left arm. So I move my left arm back. I said, "There's no reason for you touch me." So I walked away.
All the officers are continuing to follow me, so I get really nervous because I heard like the buckles and the walkie-talkie's and everything. When I turn around the tall officer punches me in the face. I hit the floor and screams he's resisting arrest. And swam of officers from every where came for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't do anything. He didn't do nothing. He didn't do nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to report you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't do nothing. He didn't do nothing. He didn't do nothing.
PAULINO: I'm screaming why are you punching me? Why are you mean? Why you kicking me? Just take me, take me. And they continued to assault me. They finally put cuffs on me. They finally get me up but they are only picking me up by my wrist which is what did the major damage to my soul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He do nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He do nothing UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't do nothing.
O'BRIEN: What would have happened if there was no video?
PAULINO: I don't - like there wouldn't have been anything. But my word against 15 police officers.
O'BRIEN: Luis' mom Evelyn used to trust the police but has had a change of heart.
EVELYN PAULINO: I brought up my kids to respect police. If they had a problem, they can go to a policeman and say, "Listen, I'm lost. Can you help me get home?"
The thing that bothers me the most is, how can you come to someone that you can't trust?
O'BRIEN: Luis was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing of government official. All charges were dropped.
Police will not respond to the allegations because Luis has filed a lawsuit against the city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was one of the officers on the team too. Funny, I know.
O'BRIEN: The police department's reforms were supposed to come in fears in minority communities. But intensive enforcement continues to exact the price.
We have a new police chief who talk about sort of doing things differently because they feel different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I think is worst. Every time I look on the Facebook, I see police brutality.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In black and Hispanic neighborhoods, you see the animosity towards us.
O'BRIEN: This officer patrol for years during the era of stop and frisk. He's asked us to mask his identity because he fears retaliation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I don't blame them. I understand, we actually deserve with the way we treat the public.
O'BRIEN: He continues to patrol and believes the police department is still aiming to create an atmosphere of fear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we do is hunt them and you can only push people so far before they say, "Enough is enough."
O'BRIEN: This former Brooklyn resident believes his been a target of the hunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was speaking on my kids from a relative's house, and best I end in a paddy wagon comes out nowhere, and all the cops got out off the car and surrounding my vehicle. And I say, "You know what? I may help you guys out." And I cut the light on and my twin daughters were sleeping with their teddy bear and after they saw that there was children in the car they say, "All right. Come on, let's go. Let's go." What was the reason for you to pull me over? No reason, no nothing, just get out the car.
O'BRIEN: This officer says commanders encourage aggressive policing by holding cops accountable for the number of arrest they make and tickets they write.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is number's based. Every aspect of you policing is given a numerical value.
O'BRIEN: Officers report the results in what are called the CompStat meetings, which began during Bratton's first as commissioner in the 1990s.
What happens at a CompStat meeting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When commanding officer of whatever precinct is not doing well with their numbers has to explain I, and sit there and say, "There was a shooting in this area, we put extra people in that area. We were X amount of (inaudible)." We didn't the stop the shooting but we summoned a whole bunch of people. We even arrested people in that area.
Summonses must be written, the arrest must be made. One of my fellow officers they'll say, "I've ruin job publications. I ruin this guy's life." All because he needed a number.
O'BRIEN: Are there are quotas for you police officers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. The unions have advocated that for years, they believe that cops were being pushed to behave in appropriately to what the thought was quota system.
I dispute some of that but what I'm dealing with is a long time legacy. Did some commanders engaged in that? Undoubtedly. Are some still engaging it? Probably but I have a made it quite clear and I'm interested in problem resolution not the numbers game.
O'BRIEN: The way that policing placed out on the street is increasingly being captured on cell phone cameras.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to the very secretively record them because I was at my grandmother's house, get ready to go to gym and our ride is on the way, they're coming around in the corner. We standing outside, but underneath we shelter from the rain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say that again. Say that again.
(Off-Mike)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you talking to me like...
(Off-mike)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?
(Off-mike)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just saying I will handcuff you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would I say that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get inside, right now.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're checking to see if...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just trying to see if my ride is coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go inside right now man. Go inside. Go inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not even doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go upstairs, right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since has you become illegal to wait for a ride.
O'BRIEN: But Commissioner Bratton hasn't abandoned the policing theory he adapted in the 1990s called broken windows.
It proposes that small crimes are signs of disorder like a broken window encourage further neglect or more serious crimes.
Do you think that going after the small offenses does not help bring down crime?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually believe in the theory of broken windows. But when you abuse it, it hurts the people it was trying to protect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe this is happening now. (inaudible) help me somebody because I don't (inaudible) here. I just go watching. I just go watching (inaudible).
(Crosstalk)
O'BRIEN: As dusk approaches, Keeshan (ph) and his friends sit on a Brooklyn rooftop and talk about how police behavior has affected their lives.
(Off-Mike)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. So, we used chilling in from of that just talking or whatever. And then, I saw this like van, pullout like - and stop at the stop sign or whatever. I know to see him get out of the car and I saw another dude and he is frisking me immediately like - Then, he say he was a components and pull out ID. We're like what? He was (inaudible) with no reason, for no reason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he's like, "Why are you nervous? Why you nervous? I'm like, "I'm a black boy you're a cop." There's a two ways in this situation is going to go. And he's like turnout like appear to me wasn't type (inaudible) like, I'm not that pay-for-cop, I usually (inaudible) just run out here.
(Crosstalk)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And do you think - you just search me without my consent. He is like, "Hey...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could have said this "I want to see your badge." If he says, "No" what are you going to do about it? You can't do anything about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing. Nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But somebody has to standup even at the odds of losing their life. For change like that's what needs to happen and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those who are crazy enough to think that they could change the world are ones who actually do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you got to be crazy, angry passionate, sad, all has these things was like you got to won it, you got to want it with everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, look at the sun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. It's so beautiful for real. My eyes have not moved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. You could see the rays like at the top of it. They just look (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like dreamer's paradise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. Because I was...
O'BRIEN: But the streets don't always seem to belong to the community. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, we got blue streets, blue leaks from a holes on Brooklyn concrete, blue walls of silence by which lady justice is blinding.
Now the reason why I felt safe enough to comeback, it was because you all still came to meet me here. Where I'm not wanted but obviously we are wanted.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Struggle between minority communities and the NYPD blue are so epic they become the stuff of poetry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up brother?
HARLEY: What up brother. I'm good man. Anything since the last one, you know, I come to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being good, surviving. That's the risk of (inaudible) just staying safe being out of cops.
O'BRIEN: Keeshan comes to an open-mic night that draws local poets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's start show. The mic is up.
HARLEY: All right, cool.
PAULINO: If you hear me clap once. If you're hearing me clap twice. If you hearing me clap three times.
OK so you guys at the swag open-mic. I mean, this is your first time here.
O'BRIEN: Luis is hosting tonight. The topic is the police. He and Keeshan have gotten to know each other through poetry circles.
PAULINO: Now, I'm pretty sure you even heard of Bratton, the new police commissioner. He has a theory called community policing. Tonight's topic "Who polices this community?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NYPD.
O'BRIEN: The poetry boils with resentment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No identity. What (inaudible) so they say (inaudible) an issue. But how can it not be when innocent (inaudible) of what the oppressor believe.
HARLEY: This is not poem. This is a war cry for every poor child that (inaudible) and killed by men who then were found innocent in courts.
O'BIEN: Luis' poetry speaks through the lingering mistrust he feels toward the police.
PAULINO: Authorities divide us patrolling our ethnic enclaves. Scare us into putting ball in out windows, houses becoming prison to keep our fears in sleep, more like our cribs, our cradles to the grave.
My people, I just hope you listen. It's time to pick up the pen and take this movement out of this out this room. I promise you we'll be making it. Let's go.
OK. Yeah, let we see. We're here for each other, in and out of this room.
O'BIEN: After the open-mic Luis and his family packed up. There's concern about how his young brother Alvin (ph) will get home. The fear is not for criminals, but the cops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk to your brother...
PAULINO: What happened?
(Off-mike)
PAULINO: Alvin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My home is like three blocks away why is everybody worried about me? Oh, my God. Why is everybody worried about me?
O'BIEN: Commissioner Bratton says, he's not worried. Police stops are down nearly 90 percent that he took office. Crime continues to fall.
BRATTON: Now so effectively this is some of our cameras around the city. We had real time what's going on in that different precincts. And coming across the screen down the bottom scrolling, it was 73 precincts in the housing development. We just had male shot not likely that means he's not likely to die. But this is how intimately we track this information.
O'BIEN: At police headquarters he monitors the city policed by his 34,000 officers.
Are you worried about animosity in minority communities when it comes to police?
BRATTON: Sure. I'm a cop for 44 years, I've been aware of animosity since I first begin as a white cop working on all black neighborhood back in 1970 in Minuteman (ph), Boston. So I came into the business at the time when cops were very brutal, where many of them are very racist. So I can understand some of the attitudes in police.
O'BIEN: Yet, the number of low level arrest is still raising in some minority communities. As broken windows policing continues.
BRATTON: When you look at, we have the calls that coming from 911 calls, emergencies, 311 calls for disorder, those calls come significantly out of the poorest most stress areas. And unfortunately, those who have police impacted the most.
CALHOUN: I think that prevention is much better than waiting something to happen and trying to find out what happen or why it happened. When people see that you're not afraid to walk after them, when something looks odd, they're more apprehensive about carrying weapons and things like that.
Our job is to stop people from doing the wrong thing.
O'BIEN: Officer Calhoun has been on both site of policing.
CALHOUN: I was walking down the street and they say, "Sir, you need to stop. Can I talk to you for a second?" And they ask me some question and they ask if would mind being search. And I said, "No. Go ahead. Search me. You're not going to find anything."
O'BIEN: He was stop twice on his Brooklyn Street.
CALHOUN: So he searched me, I don't have anything. They ask me for my I.D. They gave him my I.D. And they fill out a form and they let me go. I didn't feel like I was being harassed.
O'BIEN: Do they tell you what you're being stop for?
CALHOUN: They stop me because I fit the profile of someone who just rubbed someone. But I know I just came up the house, so I didn't have a problem falling into their search procedure.
O'BIEN: Others, particularly minority men do have a problem. And they're thinking about how to fight back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is going to happen again over and over. We're going to come to another funeral, we're going to march, we're going to sing, we're going to cry. So no justice, no peace out of window man, it's time for war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got attention to real call. Go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That pulls 57 take a 22.
O'BIEN: In a department accuse of racial profiling, nearly half of the department is comprise of minorities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got a special post. It's going to be retaliation to a student we're looking for a dark Nissan Sedan. We get you further information on that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Calhoun and other new police officers are put on alert for suspects in a shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone understand your assignment, all right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Pull up.
O'BIEN: A typical night in Bed-Stuy.
CALHOUN: If you fit the description, you fit the description, there's no way around that. We have to stop the bad guys. This is how it is. Me and my peers where out here all day, all night just trying to make sure everyone safe.
O'BIEN: Why did you want to become a cop?
CALHOUN: My father was a police officer. So I've seen how it made him a stronger person. He was always trying to help people in any way that he could. And I always wanted to be like that.
O'BIEN: Do you identify with the young black guys in this community?
CALHOUN: I do identify with them. I'm one of them. I just chose to enforce the law.
O'BIEN: Do you think people in this neighborhood trust the police?
CALHOUN: I think that people in the neighborhood are starting to accept the police.
O'BIEN: Keeshan doesn't accept the police behavior in this community. He has begun teaching others how to protect themselves from the police.
HARLEY: So one way that you just to have is, you got the right to remain silent. What can happen if you chose not to talk a police officer? How might the situation escalate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They start calling you names like (inaudible) and things like that just to get you more aggravated.
O'BIEN: His advice sound a lot like what he hears from his mother.
HARLEY: You want to stay cool and called headed out all times. You don't want to yell at officer. You don't want to curse him out even though that might be what you feel like you should do. You just got to keep a cool head. Keep your hand on your side, don't make fast movements. Anything could happen from the little thing to the biggest thing.
GARNER: I didn't stole anything
O'BIEN: Eric Garner had been arrested several times for selling untaxed cigarette and other offenses.
GARNER: Don't touch me.
(Crosstalk)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. He's down. He's down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise your hands buddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hand behind your back. GARNER: I can't breath. I can't breath.
O'BIEN: Minutes later Eric Garner was lifeless on Staten Island sidewalk. No one administered CPR. There was no evidence he been selling loose cigarettes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all right to get angry. It's all right to be mad. If you can't get angry because of unprecedented killed for no reason at all, that means that you and him...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Tuesday, July 17 approximately 3:30 p.m. the officers approach Eric Garner concerning the sale of illegal cigarettes. In attempting to take Mr. Garner into custody, there was physical struggle as the officers wrestled him to the ground. He was pronounced dead approximately one hour later.
O'BIEN: What was your reaction when you heard that Eric Garner had died in the hand of the police officer?
BRATTON: That case is moving to the appropriate process hence to the district attorney. So, I'm really not at liberty to speak to that.
O'BIEN: The story of Eric Garner dead rippled through minority communities, making it a challenge for police to gain trust.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today they pull their own justice on people on the Staten Island. If they don't want to see all the blocks, you got to get off the block.
O'BIEN: How does it feel? I mean, I never...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels really bad when person treats you inhuman and you know it and you could see it.
O'BRIEN: This shop owner Lament (ph) had an arrest outside his door that so out of control. But he still wants police to crack down on small crimes.
O'BIEN: Do the cops walk buy your store a lot? Do they drive by?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. If I call them they come, if I don't call, there (inaudible).
O'BIEN: They never walked by?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no (inaudible).
O'BIEN: Would like to see a Foot patrol, hands out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like to see it. Yeah.
O'BIEN: And do you think that that would stamp out some of those...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
O'BIEN: ... low level crimes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Yeah.
O'BIEN: At Eric Garner's funeral, there were calls for accountability.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ain't about no more preaching, ain't about no more teaching. The world will see what happened. And yet it's going to happen again over and over. Where going to come to another funeral, we're going to march, we're going to sing, we're going to cry.
So no justice no peace out of the window man, it's time for war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People have only do what we allow them to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the world with Eric Garner has ends today.
O'BIEN: Yet not long after, another community was protesting the death of unarmed black man at the hand of police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Recent anger at St. Louis area community today after a teen was shot and killed by police.
O'BIEN: Ferguson Missouri exploded in violence over the death of Michael Brown the images reaching into every home.
S. HARLEY: Hey baby
HARLEY: What's up mommy?
S. HARLEY: What you're doing?
HARLEY: Did you hear about that protest in the city?
S. HARLEY: I listen to his mother on the news, KJ (ph) and had chills. I get literally made the hair on the back of my arms stand up, this woman said "Do you know how hard it is to get a black boy in this society to graduate high school?" And I was like "That could be me. That literally could be me. My fear, my ongoing fear with your new found education and awareness is with that, comes anger."
HARLEY: I know that any moment this situation could go form zero to 100. I understand that black lives are not valued in America and by either party, by the police or by ourselves as...
S. HARLEY: Yours is valued by me.
HARLEY: By you and I love you for it. And I thank you everyday like I wouldn't be here without you in every way...
S. HARLEY: So value my value, all right?
HARLEY: Like - and I do. I value myself greedily, enough so that will not allow myself to be repressed. And I'm tired of living like that.
O'BRIEN: Luis Paulino is also tried of living like this. He's still fighting to overcome his trauma.
PAULINO: I wake up and I have feel aches and pains in both of my arms. I'll never be the same.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It's been two years. How come you can't forget -- past it?
PAULINO: Every time I'm asked about that incident, I close my eyes and I could see myself there.
I could myself on the floor getting punch, getting kneed and asking why? Like everyday I wake up and I've got aches and pain in both of my arms. I'll never be the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me if anywhere, where do you feel that?
PAULINO: It feels like my arms are going to pop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can tolerate it, let it stretched because if you don't do anything this is as far as you're going to get.
O'BRIEN: Luis's recovery process has been slow. He goes to physical therapy every week to try to rehabilitate his injured shoulders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little scary there, huh?
PAULINO: Yeah. No, no.
O'BRIEN: But after altercation, he underwent two surgeries to repair torn ligaments. He is waiting on a third. He was once a college football player.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me how are you feeling when you're doing that?
PAULINO: I'm frustrated only because...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're frustrated?
PAULINO: Only because...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
PAULINO: I was doing a hundred reps in a set.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bet.
PAULINO: And now, I can barely do three.
E PAULINO: He's trying his best, trying to overcome this. There's still moments when you just feel and you think you're far away just silent. And you see those light changes, you know there's more to it.
PAULINO: I'm not ever going to be 100 percent again? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all change all the time. We don't go back. You're not going to be Luis of two years ago or five years ago. You're going to be the new Luis. And it's challenging but that's the truth.
O'BRIEN: They new police commissioner still believes he can improve police community relations.
BRATTON: A used of medical comparison all the time. The doctor diagnosis cancer and treats you with chemo. You're feeling better but he keeps applying more chemo. And you start feeling worse and worse.
So policing like medicine, it's a balancing act. One of the issues is, how do you have an appropriate level of policing to reduce crime event, reduce disorder and prevent it. But do it in a way that law abiding in their community don't feel that they need to be fearful for the police.
O'BRIEN: Keeshan believes the people in his community should decide when policing goes too far.
HARLEY: I think enough is enough. You have to demand something to be done about this. If I see another story about a person of color being killed by a police officer for no reason, I'm going to loose my mind.
I have no idea how to exist in this society. And so I have to come here today through the solidarity of my people to at least show myself that there's a reason to keep fighting, that these people's lives matter.
This is why I fight because people need these things. We need these things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Don't shoot.
HARLEY: Hands up.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Don't shoot.
HARLEY: Hands up.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Don't shoot.
O'BRIEN: Michael Brown's death in Missouri added renewed urgency to an already planned demonstration in New York City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a problem in New York City and all across America. So we got to keep marching. We got to keep fighting. We got to keep pushing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We said to NYPD, not only are we going to fight against you while we're cops. We're going to fight against you when we get off the job because what you're doing is wrong.
O'BRIEN: Keeshan seizes the opportunity to deliver his message that policing has to change.
HARLEY: Hi, good afternoon. My name is Keeshan Harley. I'm 19 years old. And just one of many heart scattered by ongoing news of police violence targeted at my community. As a young black man was been stopped and frisked over 100 times. I realized that at any moment during those interactions my life could have also been stripped away.
Broken window policing that targets communities of color promotes this violence. In order to truly improve police community relations, there needs to be a systemic and subsequent change in our city hall and the NYPD have responded to these incidents.
That lack of accountability for officers who target stop-and-frisk and murder members of our communities of color. We affirm everything that believed about this justice system in this country. It works, if you don't look like me, if you don't look like us.
Thank you.
