As revealed in sworn statements stemming from a discrimination lawsuit, New York City Police Department officers were specifically instructed to "go after blacks and Latinos" for minor subway offenses.
The New York Timesreported Friday that six officers made similar allegations in their statements, which chronicle incidents between 2011 and 2015. Then-commander Constantin Tsachas, who has since shifted to deputy inspector duties, is said to have "pressured" officers to hand out the violations while viewing white and Asian people as "soft targets."
The signed affidavits are part of a discrimination suit brought by four officers who say they risked retaliation if they took a stand against an enforced quota that unfairly targeted certain New Yorkers. While Tsachas has denied the allegations, data cited in the Times report tells a different story.
"Tsachas would get angry if you tried to patrol subway stations in predominately white or Asian neighborhoods," one officer is quoted as saying. All but one of the six officers in the suit (all of whom are black or Hispanic) are retired.
The report arrives as the department continues to be widely criticized for its presence in the city's subway systems.
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Read the full Times report here.
