A few weeks ago, a men's clothing store in Manhattan was victimized by numerous young men who, according the owners, stole $20,000 of merchandise. And worse: punched a 61 year old employee in the face. It was the second time the store had suffered similar theft recently.
The owners called NYPD both times. Both times NYPD came after the young men had left. The second time, however, one of the young men left his cell phone behind. Even apparently called it to retrieve it. The holy grail of evidence. A way for cops to catch them, right? Wrong.
Here's where the story turns from tragic to sinister. The owners called the responding cops "professional & sympathetic." But they lied to them. First, they lied they couldn't use the phone bc of "privacy laws." Despite ample justification to undercut constitutional protections.
Never in my nearly decade of public defense did the Constitution ever stop cops from acting even when the Constitution plainly prohibited their actions. Cops know their word will never be challenged & even if it is, judges will give a pass. More on this:
https://t.co/vOuROVl9nc
It gets worse. NYPD didn't just lie they couldn't search for or arrest the suspects. They lied that even if caught, they'd face no consequences. Because of "bail reform" & new Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's wildly misinterpreted policy memo. Storeowners were understandably horrified.
This was the last straw for the storeowners. After being bombarded w/ years of police-planted propaganda, fear & falsehoods tying bail reform to fictional "surges," personally surviving violence, then being told by NYPD it was bc of reform, they spoke out.https://t.co/t0HX6Wywf0
Confronted both w/ traumatic experiences & brazen lies by the NYPD, it's understandable these storeowners would speak out, in anger & resolve, against commonsense & remarkably successful reforms in NY. Misinformation is as much a tragedy as the violent robbery. So here are facts:
The offense & actions the storeowners described is Robbery in the Second Degree. A class C violent felony. Each individual would face minimum 3.5 years in prison. Max 15. Under NY Penal Law 160.10(2)(a). Bail reform doesn't touch this case. Alvin Bragg's memo doesn't come close.
It is FALSE Manhattan DA Bragg's new policy memo forecloses prosecution of these violent felonies. Or comes close to *condoning them*. He'd prosecute this case as a violent robbery. His prosecutors would request bail. Here’s a direct link to his policy:https://t.co/cCaUL0ERg5
So much lying out there about Bragg "condoning commercial armed robbery!" Minor changes relate only to cases involving no "genuine risk of physical harm." In this case, someone was ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY HARMED. Even just *threatening* the act would've qualify as a C-violent felony.
The carve out in Bragg’s policy is for outrageous cases that already ordinarily end in misdemeanors or dismissals like when a single person puts their finger under their shirt pretending to have a gun. If any object (even a water bottle) could cause harm, it could be charged.
Only other change in Bragg's memo re: commercial crimes relates to outrageous practice of charging someone w/ a "violent burglary" for simple theft only bc a store's connected to a building w/ residences as well. Bragg'd still charge these as non-violent felonies. Up to 4 years.
Bragg’s policy also doesn't rule out bail or incarceration for any crime. And carceral sentences would be based on a "holistic analysis of the facts" including "victim's input (particularly in cases of violence or trauma)." Which fits the storeowner's case as well.
To reiterate: In the case the storeowners described, these individuals could & would be charged w/ a C-violent robbery under Penal section 160.10, likely be caged on Rikers pretrial on unaffordable bail, & face up to between 15 years in prison. What cops called "no consequences."
The experience of the storeowners sounds harrowing & horrifying. Only made worse by the fact the NYPD both refused to help & also lied to them. Lied blatantly, as theyre doing in NYC & around the country to make people feel less safe & call to roll back criminal justice reforms.
Ill end here for now. More policing is not the answer. Continued harsh prosecutions aren't the answer. More people caged is not the answer. How do we know this? This story underscores why. Read on:
We spend $11 billion on policing that did nothing to prevent the crime described by the storeowners. $11 billion to fail/refuse to solve crime. That's not the storeowners' fault. That's not "reform's" fault. That's an epic failure of policing as a health & safety strategy.
Even worse: The $11 billion NYPD LIED. Lied that there's "nothing" they could do. That "nothing" would happen. They did this knowingly. They want to make people feel less safe, to fearmonger, & lie about reforms in order to get people to support doubling down on failed policy.
Bail reform has been a massive success. Out of the 98,000 now free who otherwise would've been eligible for Rikers, less than 2% were rearrested for a violent offense. Same as before reform. The chances these kids were released on another case at the time, is near-non-existent.
In NY & other localities where modest changes have passed, the fact is 1000s upon 1000s more are w/ their families, jobs, housing, medical care, & showing up to court. Not subjected to the *criminogenic violence that increases recidivism* of pretrial detention. Not reoffending.
Meanwhile, just like before bail reform, an infinitesimal percentage of people who were released get rearrested for crimes of violence. And those who were originally charged with crimes of violence (& bail eligible), are *the least likely* of all to get rearrested *if* released.
The data also undermines the propaganda. Crime trends over last year according to most recent FBI data was consistent. Across all jurisdictions. Cities large/small. Red/blue. With/without reforms. Those w/ "progressive prosecutors" & without. With police protests & without.
Here's the data just in NYC as it relates to the kind of crime the storeowners' experience: Nearly 2% decrease in burglaries over the last 2 years. Over 7% decline in robberies. Is it okay it happened to them? No. Is it part of a "surge" of burglaries/robberies? No.
Lastly, the idea that somehow kids in Manhattan are suddenly feeling "emboldened" because they think they can get away with offenses like this is ludicrous. Violent felony before. Still violent felony. Also directly undercut by every study undermining deterrence theory.
People are not thinking to themselves: “Ok, I’m going to steal from this store because if I do get caught there is a higher chance that I might not get sent to Rikers Island during a pandemic under the new DA’s new policy memo.” People are not thinking like this.
We all, New Yorkers and survivors of violent crime included, deserve the truth.
Not surprisingly I’m reply to this thread, a wide range of people seeing & hearing about the same sinister police practices in NYC & around the country. Crown Heights, Brooklyn:
https://t.co/YMrH4MI5e0
In California via NextDoor app:
https://t.co/53cRkHLJOS
Not just when responding to calls for help. NYPD lying in community meetings too:
https://t.co/12MUqWcf1A
Just recalled that I had a similar conversation in San Francisco.
https://t.co/RDgJisq4bI
