Posted on 05/08/2008 6:09:28 PM PDT by SmithL
NEW YORK, (AP) --
Gov. David Paterson pledged to examine undercover police conduct on Thursday, a day after more than 200 people were arrested protesting the acquittal of three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed man.
Paterson said he understood the activists' frustrations as he stood with the slain man's fiancee and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who were among the demonstrators arrested while disrupting evening rush hour traffic. But the governor stopped short of endorsing their actions.
"No civil servant can condone civil disobedience," Paterson said, but he added: "They felt that they had no other choice but to take the action that they took, and I respect the decision that they made to take that action."
The governor's involvement was a measure of the emotion and unrelenting attention surrounding the shooting of Sean Bell, who was gunned down hours before he was to be married in November 2006.
The gunfire stirred complaints about police tactics, and the acquittals on April 25 in state court prompted some activists to question the prospects of justice for minorities. Bell was black as were two of his friends wounded in the shooting; the officers are black, Hispanic and white.
Paterson, New York's first black governor, said Thursday he would explore undercover officer procedures, saying the advocates had suggested plainclothes officers should not suddenly "change the script" and act as police.
He also said he would consider potential statewide legislation compelling officers to take sobriety tests after some shootings, such as those in which police fire at people who prove to be unarmed. The New York Police Department last year began requiring such tests when officers kill or wound someone.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
So people, remember. If you're in plainclothes and you see a crime go down, ignore it! Now let's roll, and remember - Be careful out there!
I think two of the cops were black....but who cares....it's racist if Sharpton claims it is.
Scumbag Sharpton is more than willing to throw his race under the bus if it enriches his sorry a$$. He does it all the time. He’ll just claim the black cops are “uncle toms” demonstrating his breathtaking ignorance and stupidity.
That's going to make catching criminals so much easier. They're going to have to find a phone booth quickly and change into their cop suits like superman.
the advocates had suggested plainclothes officers should not suddenly “change the script” and act as police.
Unless the officers are corrupt or the law immoral, of course.
Let truth be told and true justice served always!
Cops should be required to wear uniforms and drive marked cars.
Except this guy wasn't unarmed. He had a 3 ton weapon and was trying to kill these cops. This was a clean shoot.
But I largely agree with you.
That should be plural (Post #1).
And you might add the previous (resigned) Governor of N. J.; and the current (urged to resign) Attorney General of Ohio.
All definitely under-the-covers operatives; and all - Dems.
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