Policing the Police (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

00:53:17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_8vTl6D940

Zusammenfassung

TLDRThe video "Policing the Police" examines the Newark Police Department's struggles with misconduct and the push for reform. It features Jelani Cobb, who rides along with officers and engages with community members expressing their concerns about police practices. The Justice Department's findings of unconstitutional policing practices highlight the need for accountability. Mayor Ras Baraka advocates for a new police culture and community oversight. The video illustrates the challenges of building trust between police and residents in a city with a history of tension, emphasizing the importance of reform and respect for rights.

Mitbringsel

  • 🚓 Newark Police Department faces scrutiny for unconstitutional practices.
  • 🗣️ Community members demand accountability and reform.
  • 📜 Justice Department's findings reveal systemic issues in policing.
  • 👮‍♂️ Officers express the challenges of policing in a distrustful environment.
  • 🤝 Mayor Ras Baraka pushes for a new police culture and community engagement.
  • 📈 Reforms include body cameras and civilian oversight.
  • 🔍 The need for transparency in police operations is emphasized.
  • 💔 Historical tensions between police and the community persist.
  • 🔄 Change in policing culture is a long-term process.
  • 📣 The video highlights the importance of respecting constitutional rights.

Zeitleiste

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The Newark Police Department faces scrutiny for unconstitutional policing practices in a city plagued by violence. The narrative explores the tension between police actions and community rights, highlighting the need for accountability and reform.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Writer Jelani Cobb attends a city council meeting where residents voice their grievances against police misconduct, reflecting a broader national conversation about race and policing.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Cobb investigates Newark's history of police violence and the Justice Department's findings of misconduct, questioning how reform can be achieved in a city with high crime rates and strained police-community relations.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Cobb rides along with the Gang Unit, observing their methods of policing, which often involve stops and searches based on perceived suspicion, raising concerns about the justification of these actions.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The officers express their belief in the necessity of their tactics for public safety, despite the DOJ's findings that a significant percentage of stops were unjustified, leading to a lack of trust in the community.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Cobb reflects on his own experiences with police and the instinctual fear that can arise in confrontations, questioning whether true safety can be achieved through aggressive policing methods.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    The narrative highlights the historical context of police-community relations in Newark, including past riots and the federal government's role in overseeing police reform efforts.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Cobb interviews Newark's mayor, Ras Baraka, who acknowledges the challenges of reforming the police department while emphasizing the need for community involvement and accountability.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    The mayor's efforts to improve police-community relations include establishing oversight and addressing systemic issues within the department, but he faces resistance and skepticism from both police and community members.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:53:17

    As the narrative concludes, the city takes steps toward reform, including the establishment of a civilian review board, but the path to meaningful change remains complex and fraught with challenges.

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Mind Map

Video-Fragen und Antworten

  • What is the main focus of the video?

    The video focuses on the challenges and reforms within the Newark Police Department, addressing issues of police misconduct and community relations.

  • Who is Jelani Cobb?

    Jelani Cobb is a writer and historian who explores race and policing in America.

  • What did the Justice Department find in their investigation of the Newark Police Department?

    The Justice Department found a pattern of unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests, particularly affecting black residents.

  • What are some of the community's concerns regarding the police?

    Community members express distrust and fear of police, citing experiences of police misconduct and excessive force.

  • What reforms are being implemented in the Newark Police Department?

    Reforms include new policies, training requirements, body cameras, and civilian oversight of the police.

  • How does the video depict the relationship between police and the community?

    The video illustrates a strained relationship characterized by distrust, fear, and calls for accountability.

  • What role does Mayor Ras Baraka play in the reform process?

    Mayor Ras Baraka is actively involved in pushing for police reform and community oversight.

  • What challenges do police officers face in Newark?

    Officers face a lack of trust from the community, high crime rates, and pressure to perform under scrutiny.

  • What is the significance of the civilian review board mentioned in the video?

    The civilian review board aims to increase transparency and accountability within the police department.

  • What is the overall message of the video?

    The video conveys the complexity of policing in Newark, emphasizing the need for reform, community engagement, and respect for constitutional rights.

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Untertitel
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Automatisches Blättern:
  • 00:00:03
    >> I didn't do nothing!
  • 00:00:04
    Come on, man!
  • 00:00:05
    I didn't do nothing!
  • 00:00:07
    >> NARRATOR: They police one of
  • 00:00:08
    the most violent cities in
  • 00:00:09
    America, and they're under fire
  • 00:00:11
    for how they've been doing it.
  • 00:00:12
    >> The Newark Police Department
  • 00:00:13
    has engaged in a pattern or
  • 00:00:15
    practice of unconstitutional
  • 00:00:16
    stops...
  • 00:00:17
    >> You gotta look at it our way.
  • 00:00:18
    Suppose he has a weapon on him.
  • 00:00:20
    How would you confront the
  • 00:00:21
    situation?
  • 00:00:22
    >> Can this be done in a way
  • 00:00:23
    that still respects people's
  • 00:00:24
    rights?
  • 00:00:25
    >> NARRATOR: Writer and
  • 00:00:26
    historian Jelani Cobb is on the
  • 00:00:27
    street with the Newark Police.
  • 00:00:29
    >> We're not out here saying,
  • 00:00:30
    "We're gonna violate this
  • 00:00:31
    person's rights."
  • 00:00:32
    >> So is that a good stop,
  • 00:00:33
    not a good stop?
  • 00:00:34
    >> By perception, by perception
  • 00:00:36
    only, that would look like it
  • 00:00:37
    was a bad stop.
  • 00:00:38
    By perception.
  • 00:00:40
    >> NARRATOR: And inside the
  • 00:00:41
    politics of a city trying to
  • 00:00:42
    change.
  • 00:00:43
    >> You have to be a part of the
  • 00:00:44
    community.
  • 00:00:45
    You have to be a stakeholder
  • 00:00:46
    in the community.
  • 00:00:48
    >> This city is moving forward
  • 00:00:50
    with a whole different police
  • 00:00:52
    culture, and you are the
  • 00:00:54
    beginning of that.
  • 00:00:55
    >> NARRATOR: Tonight
  • 00:00:57
    on Frontline,
  • 00:00:58
    "Policing the Police."
  • 00:01:05
    >> ♪ O say,
  • 00:01:07
    does that star-spangled banner
  • 00:01:15
    yet wave ♪
  • 00:01:20
    ♪ O'er the land
  • 00:01:24
    of the free... ♪
  • 00:01:28
    >> JELANI COBB: In Newark, New
  • 00:01:29
    Jersey, every city council
  • 00:01:31
    hearing starts with Whitney
  • 00:01:32
    Houston's version of the
  • 00:01:33
    national anthem.
  • 00:01:35
    She's a hometown hero.
  • 00:01:41
    >> Good evening, ladies and
  • 00:01:42
    gentlemen.
  • 00:01:43
    Welcome to the Newark
  • 00:01:44
    Municipal Council's public
  • 00:01:46
    meeting.
  • 00:01:47
    >> COBB: But tonight is not
  • 00:01:48
    just an ordinary meeting.
  • 00:01:50
    People have packed City Hall to
  • 00:01:51
    speak up about the need for more
  • 00:01:52
    police accountability.
  • 00:01:54
    It's a conversation happening in
  • 00:01:55
    cities all across the country.
  • 00:01:57
    >> Hello.
  • 00:01:59
    My name is Laquan Thomas.
  • 00:02:00
    I done been robbed by the cops.
  • 00:02:01
    I done been assaulted by the
  • 00:02:02
    cops.
  • 00:02:03
    Like, that's crazy.
  • 00:02:04
    Like, y'all supposed to be
  • 00:02:06
    serving and protecting the
  • 00:02:07
    community, but they serve and
  • 00:02:08
    disrespect the community.
  • 00:02:09
    >> I've been a victim of them
  • 00:02:10
    more than once.
  • 00:02:11
    I've been a victim of
  • 00:02:13
    retaliation after reporting
  • 00:02:14
    police abuses.
  • 00:02:15
    >> I don't know a day that I
  • 00:02:16
    walked outside and did not see
  • 00:02:18
    police treat people injustice.
  • 00:02:20
    Are the criminals being dealt
  • 00:02:21
    with?
  • 00:02:23
    Maybe, but the ones doing the
  • 00:02:25
    nine to fives, paying their
  • 00:02:26
    taxes, why are we subject to the
  • 00:02:28
    same punishment as the rest of
  • 00:02:29
    them?
  • 00:02:32
    >> COBB: I've been going to
  • 00:02:33
    meetings like this for years,
  • 00:02:35
    writing about race and policing
  • 00:02:37
    for The New Yorker magazine.
  • 00:02:39
    There seemed to have been, you
  • 00:02:40
    know, really entrenched distrust
  • 00:02:41
    for the police before.
  • 00:02:43
    I was in Ferguson, Missouri,
  • 00:02:44
    after a white policeman killed
  • 00:02:45
    Michael Brown, a young black
  • 00:02:47
    man.
  • 00:02:49
    After the death of Freddie Gray
  • 00:02:52
    in Baltimore, I took this cell
  • 00:02:53
    phone video of cops trying to
  • 00:02:55
    put down the protests.
  • 00:02:58
    I cover these stories because I
  • 00:03:00
    see the tension between
  • 00:03:02
    African Americans and the police
  • 00:03:04
    as a gauge of race relations
  • 00:03:06
    in this country.
  • 00:03:08
    And it's led me to wonder,
  • 00:03:10
    What would it take for
  • 00:03:11
    policing to ever be different?
  • 00:03:26
    In the summer of 2014, I started
  • 00:03:28
    looking at Newark, one of the
  • 00:03:29
    more recent cities to be accused
  • 00:03:31
    of abusive and discriminatory
  • 00:03:33
    policing.
  • 00:03:34
    >> Three years ago, we announced
  • 00:03:36
    that we were launching an
  • 00:03:38
    investigation into whether the
  • 00:03:39
    Newark Police Department had
  • 00:03:40
    engaged in a pattern or
  • 00:03:42
    practice of unconstitutional
  • 00:03:43
    policing.
  • 00:03:44
    >> COBB: The Justice
  • 00:03:45
    Department found rampant
  • 00:03:46
    misconduct.
  • 00:03:48
    >> Newark Police Department has
  • 00:03:49
    engaged in a pattern or practice
  • 00:03:50
    of unconstitutional stops,
  • 00:03:52
    searches, and arrests on the
  • 00:03:54
    city of Newark's black
  • 00:03:55
    residents.
  • 00:03:58
    >> COBB: The DOJ demanded
  • 00:03:59
    reform, but I wanted to know how
  • 00:04:00
    reform could happen in Newark, a
  • 00:04:02
    poor city where last year there
  • 00:04:04
    were more than 300 shootings and
  • 00:04:06
    105 murders...
  • 00:04:08
    >> ...more than twice the number
  • 00:04:09
    of carjackings...
  • 00:04:10
    >> COBB: ... a rate nine
  • 00:04:11
    times higher than New York
  • 00:04:13
    City's.
  • 00:04:14
    >> Crime is on the rise in this
  • 00:04:15
    city.
  • 00:04:16
    >> COBB: Gangs and drugs
  • 00:04:17
    drive the violence.
  • 00:04:18
    >> Three teens were shot...
  • 00:04:19
    >> COBB: And the department
  • 00:04:21
    is underfunded, overstretched,
  • 00:04:22
    and under fire for the way they
  • 00:04:23
    do things.
  • 00:04:24
    >> Details this morning on a
  • 00:04:25
    double shooting in New Jersey, a
  • 00:04:26
    woman killed and a man wounded.
  • 00:04:27
    >> COBB: At the street
  • 00:04:29
    level, the effort to halt the
  • 00:04:30
    bloodshed falls on the Newark PD
  • 00:04:31
    Gang Unit.
  • 00:04:33
    >> ...Newark's 104th murder by
  • 00:04:35
    late December.
  • 00:04:36
    >> COBB: After writing about
  • 00:04:37
    the police for years from the
  • 00:04:38
    outside, I wanted to see things
  • 00:04:40
    from the perspective of the cops
  • 00:04:42
    themselves.
  • 00:04:43
    >> Come on, let's have roll
  • 00:04:44
    call.
  • 00:04:45
    >> Roll call.
  • 00:04:46
    >> COBB: It took months
  • 00:04:47
    before they agreed to give us
  • 00:04:49
    access.
  • 00:04:50
    >> We had a gun robbery at 12:30
  • 00:04:53
    hours, 49 Fairview Avenue.
  • 00:04:56
    >> COBB: Sergeant Joe
  • 00:04:58
    Conzentino is in charge.
  • 00:04:59
    >> The victim, Mr. Stokes,
  • 00:05:01
    previously classified G-Shine,
  • 00:05:02
    Blood gang member.
  • 00:05:03
    We don't know if this ties into
  • 00:05:05
    the active dispute.
  • 00:05:06
    Reach out for our informants in
  • 00:05:07
    the area, see if there's a
  • 00:05:08
    tie-in to this.
  • 00:05:10
    Fairview Homes, we will ride by
  • 00:05:11
    and monitor that location during
  • 00:05:12
    our tour of duty.
  • 00:05:14
    >> Carlos, your radio.
  • 00:05:17
    >> Thanks.
  • 00:05:18
    >> COBB: Like the rest of
  • 00:05:19
    the police department, the Gang
  • 00:05:20
    Unit is predominately black and
  • 00:05:22
    Latino, and so are most of the
  • 00:05:24
    victims and perpetrators.
  • 00:05:27
    >> Come on, slim!
  • 00:05:31
    >> (on radio): Let us know when
  • 00:05:32
    you're ready.
  • 00:05:33
    >> We're good.
  • 00:05:34
    >> All right, son.
  • 00:05:35
    >> COBB: On one night, I
  • 00:05:36
    rode with Ricardo Reillo, a
  • 00:05:38
    former truck driver, and
  • 00:05:39
    Wilberto Ruiz, an Air Force vet.
  • 00:05:41
    Both are from Newark.
  • 00:05:49
    >> Where's blue pants going?
  • 00:05:51
    >> That's a chick.
  • 00:05:56
    >> COBB: The officers say
  • 00:05:57
    they're out here hunting for
  • 00:05:59
    guns, drugs, and intelligence
  • 00:06:00
    about gang rivalries.
  • 00:06:10
    (siren wailing)
  • 00:06:14
    >> COBB: As they roll up on
  • 00:06:15
    one of the worst streets in
  • 00:06:16
    Newark, a guy starts running.
  • 00:06:32
    It's just the start of a busy
  • 00:06:33
    night.
  • 00:06:35
    >> Bunch of heroin bricks, bunch
  • 00:06:36
    of marijuana.
  • 00:06:37
    >> COBB: One of many we
  • 00:06:39
    spent with the unit.
  • 00:06:43
    >> See your hands, see your
  • 00:06:44
    hands.
  • 00:06:50
    >> COBB: I'm struck by what
  • 00:06:51
    passes for normal out here.
  • 00:06:56
    >> There's the weed man.
  • 00:06:57
    This is the weed man's car.
  • 00:06:59
    >> COBB: They call what
  • 00:07:00
    they're doing "field inquiries,"
  • 00:07:01
    basically stopping and frisking.
  • 00:07:09
    How does the decision get made
  • 00:07:11
    to say, "Okay, we need to stop
  • 00:07:12
    that person," or, "We need to do
  • 00:07:13
    a field inquiry with that
  • 00:07:14
    person"?
  • 00:07:16
    >> You as an officer, you
  • 00:07:17
    eventually build certain skills.
  • 00:07:20
    You start learning how to read
  • 00:07:21
    people, their body language.
  • 00:07:23
    If one person doesn't want to
  • 00:07:24
    take his hands out of his
  • 00:07:25
    pockets, starts pulling away
  • 00:07:26
    from you, starts walking away
  • 00:07:28
    from you once he notices our
  • 00:07:29
    police presence, obviously if he
  • 00:07:30
    starts running, you know,
  • 00:07:31
    there's a reason behind it,
  • 00:07:33
    usually.
  • 00:07:36
    >> You know more or less.
  • 00:07:37
    When you pass them and they give
  • 00:07:38
    you that look, you know.
  • 00:07:43
    >> COBB: Cops are supposed
  • 00:07:44
    to have what's called reasonable
  • 00:07:46
    suspicion to stop someone, not
  • 00:07:47
    just a hunch.
  • 00:07:49
    But that leaves room for
  • 00:07:51
    discretion.
  • 00:07:53
    >> We just want to make sure
  • 00:07:54
    you're all right.
  • 00:08:00
    >> They respect us, we respect
  • 00:08:01
    them, we treat them fair.
  • 00:08:03
    We have a rapport with them.
  • 00:08:04
    They know what we're out here
  • 00:08:05
    for, and they don't give us...
  • 00:08:07
    most of the time they don't give
  • 00:08:08
    us no problems.
  • 00:08:16
    >> Relax, my man.
  • 00:08:17
    How old are you?
  • 00:08:18
    >> All right, so what you...
  • 00:08:20
    >> Keep walking, keep walking.
  • 00:08:23
    >> That's what we have to deal
  • 00:08:24
    with in the city of Newark--
  • 00:08:25
    13-year-olds talking back to
  • 00:08:26
    the police.
  • 00:08:27
    >> COBB: Do you think
  • 00:08:28
    he was justified to be worried
  • 00:08:29
    about his brother?
  • 00:08:30
    >> Oh, absolutely.
  • 00:08:31
    But he sees who we are.
  • 00:08:33
    We're police.
  • 00:08:34
    He shouldn't be afraid of
  • 00:08:35
    police.
  • 00:08:37
    The young kids usually have all
  • 00:08:38
    of the weapons, because the
  • 00:08:40
    adults already know that it's a
  • 00:08:42
    juvenile, so they're really not
  • 00:08:43
    gonna get any hard time.
  • 00:08:48
    >> COBB: For these officers,
  • 00:08:49
    it seems like almost everything
  • 00:08:51
    and everyone looks suspicious.
  • 00:08:53
    >> You ain't got no ID on you?
  • 00:08:54
    >> COBB: The reasonable
  • 00:08:55
    suspicion in this stop?
  • 00:08:57
    They say the guy clutched his
  • 00:08:58
    waistband as he was riding his
  • 00:09:00
    bike.
  • 00:09:09
    >> Enjoy your movie, sir.
  • 00:09:15
    >> COBB: I can't help but
  • 00:09:16
    think of what the Justice
  • 00:09:17
    Department found here-- that the
  • 00:09:19
    Newark PD was stopping people
  • 00:09:20
    without legal justification 75%
  • 00:09:22
    of the time.
  • 00:09:28
    >> (on radio): 20-31, 20-31.
  • 00:09:32
    >> COBB: I'm starting to
  • 00:09:34
    question what the Gang Unit's
  • 00:09:35
    doing.
  • 00:09:36
    Then, it happens.
  • 00:09:38
    Two guys start running as the
  • 00:09:40
    caravan pulls up.
  • 00:10:18
    >> Look, I don't got no gun.
  • 00:10:21
    >> Turn around.
  • 00:10:23
    >> Yeah, that's affirm, we got
  • 00:10:24
    him.
  • 00:10:25
    Where's it at?
  • 00:10:26
    >> I don't got no gun!
  • 00:10:27
    >> In that other yard.
  • 00:10:29
    >> No, check that yard.
  • 00:10:30
    >> Put your hand behind your
  • 00:10:31
    back, man.
  • 00:10:33
    He's bleeding, you want to be
  • 00:10:34
    careful.
  • 00:10:35
    >> I don't give a (bleep).
  • 00:10:37
    You almost got shot, you stupid
  • 00:10:38
    (bleep).
  • 00:10:39
    >> Come on, man, get up.
  • 00:10:40
    >> You gotta go around to that
  • 00:10:41
    alley.
  • 00:10:43
    >> You almost got shot.
  • 00:10:54
    >> Sit down.
  • 00:11:00
    >> Here's the weapon.
  • 00:11:03
    >> COBB: Almost every night
  • 00:11:04
    we're out with the Gang Unit,
  • 00:11:06
    they get a gun off the streets.
  • 00:11:08
    There's a moment of pride...
  • 00:11:09
    >> But, you know, the most
  • 00:11:10
    important thing is, there's
  • 00:11:11
    another weapon out the street.
  • 00:11:12
    Everybody's safe, everybody's
  • 00:11:13
    accounted for.
  • 00:11:14
    >> COBB: ...and then they
  • 00:11:16
    get back to business.
  • 00:11:20
    Another call-- two kids running.
  • 00:11:23
    (siren wailing)
  • 00:11:34
    >> Come on.
  • 00:11:40
    >> Why you running?
  • 00:11:41
    >> Scared of what?
  • 00:11:47
    >> COBB: It's clear to me
  • 00:11:48
    that there's no trust.
  • 00:11:50
    That's what happens when
  • 00:11:51
    everyone assumes the worst of
  • 00:11:52
    everyone else.
  • 00:12:07
    They find a small bag of cocaine
  • 00:12:09
    on one guy, but nothing on the
  • 00:12:10
    other one.
  • 00:12:17
    At the end of the night, I
  • 00:12:18
    talked with Officers Ruiz and
  • 00:12:20
    Reillo about what I'd been
  • 00:12:21
    seeing.
  • 00:12:23
    I'm just gonna ask you straight
  • 00:12:24
    out-- is it possible to make the
  • 00:12:26
    communities that we're talking
  • 00:12:28
    about safe while respecting
  • 00:12:30
    people's constitutional rights?
  • 00:12:32
    >> Absolutely.
  • 00:12:33
    Absolutely.
  • 00:12:34
    Without a doubt.
  • 00:12:36
    We go out there every night.
  • 00:12:37
    >> But the DOJ doesn't feel like
  • 00:12:38
    that's what's happened here.
  • 00:12:39
    >> That's an opinion.
  • 00:12:40
    I mean, we out... we go out
  • 00:12:41
    there.
  • 00:12:43
    It's not any disrespect to
  • 00:12:44
    anybody out there.
  • 00:12:45
    It's not about race, you know,
  • 00:12:46
    or violating their rights.
  • 00:12:47
    It has nothing to do with that.
  • 00:12:48
    We have a job to do.
  • 00:12:49
    We live in this city.
  • 00:12:50
    We care about this city.
  • 00:12:51
    This is what we do.
  • 00:12:53
    >> COBB: I have to tell you
  • 00:12:54
    something though, right?
  • 00:12:55
    So I grew up in Queens, right?
  • 00:12:57
    And my first experience with the
  • 00:13:01
    police is that I was thrown up
  • 00:13:03
    against a mailbox just like this
  • 00:13:04
    one.
  • 00:13:05
    I was coming home from a
  • 00:13:07
    baseball game.
  • 00:13:08
    I had my uniform on, I was
  • 00:13:09
    carrying a bat and a glove.
  • 00:13:10
    And the guy said it was a crime
  • 00:13:12
    that was committed and so on,
  • 00:13:13
    and I was kind of like, "I'm
  • 00:13:14
    coming from a game."
  • 00:13:17
    The next experience I had was a
  • 00:13:19
    few years later, I was walking
  • 00:13:20
    with a group of friends of mine
  • 00:13:22
    and a cop pulled a gun on us and
  • 00:13:23
    told us to get on the sidewalk.
  • 00:13:25
    >> He pulled out his weapon to
  • 00:13:26
    make you comply with whatever he
  • 00:13:27
    needed you to do at the time for
  • 00:13:29
    his safety and other officers'
  • 00:13:30
    safety, even for your own
  • 00:13:31
    safety.
  • 00:13:32
    >> You could point your weapon
  • 00:13:34
    at somebody and give them
  • 00:13:35
    commands to comply.
  • 00:13:36
    Once you feel like the threat's
  • 00:13:37
    neutralized, like, you know,
  • 00:13:39
    they're complying with you, then
  • 00:13:40
    you put your weapon away, and,
  • 00:13:41
    you know...
  • 00:13:42
    >> Have a normal interaction.
  • 00:13:43
    >> Yeah, have a normal
  • 00:13:44
    interaction.
  • 00:13:45
    >> COBB: But can you really have
  • 00:13:46
    a normal interaction if
  • 00:13:47
    someone's pointing a gun at you?
  • 00:13:48
    I don't... I don't...
  • 00:13:49
    >> You gotta look at it our way.
  • 00:13:51
    I mean, say there was five, six
  • 00:13:52
    males, and one of them possibly
  • 00:13:53
    has a weapon.
  • 00:13:55
    >> COBB: Mm-hmm.
  • 00:13:56
    >> What would you do as a police
  • 00:13:57
    officer?
  • 00:13:58
    You encounter a group of males.
  • 00:13:59
    One supposedly has a weapon on
  • 00:14:00
    him.
  • 00:14:01
    How would you confront the
  • 00:14:02
    situation?
  • 00:14:03
    >> COBB: I'm not sure, but
  • 00:14:04
    that's why I asked the question
  • 00:14:05
    about can you do this... can
  • 00:14:06
    this be done in a way that still
  • 00:14:07
    respects people's rights?
  • 00:14:09
    I think that's the question that
  • 00:14:10
    everybody is wondering about
  • 00:14:12
    policing.
  • 00:14:14
    >> Listen, we try to go out
  • 00:14:15
    there and respect everybody's
  • 00:14:16
    rights.
  • 00:14:17
    >> Exactly.
  • 00:14:18
    >> We're not out here saying,
  • 00:14:19
    "Hey, we're gonna violate this
  • 00:14:20
    person's rights."
  • 00:14:21
    That's not what we're here for.
  • 00:14:22
    I tell you, our main objective
  • 00:14:23
    is to go home at the end of the
  • 00:14:24
    night.
  • 00:14:25
    We have families, we have
  • 00:14:26
    children.
  • 00:14:27
    We have wives, we have
  • 00:14:28
    girlfriends, we have sisters, we
  • 00:14:29
    have mothers, we have fathers.
  • 00:14:33
    >> COBB: The Gang Unit is
  • 00:14:35
    supposed to write up reports for
  • 00:14:36
    all the stops and arrests they
  • 00:14:37
    make.
  • 00:14:39
    I thought these might help me
  • 00:14:40
    get more insight into how they
  • 00:14:41
    justify them, so I filed a
  • 00:14:43
    public records request.
  • 00:14:46
    But I was told it would take a
  • 00:14:48
    while.
  • 00:14:51
    >> New Jersey, a state under
  • 00:14:53
    siege.
  • 00:14:54
    >> COBB: Questions about the
  • 00:14:55
    Newark Police go back decades.
  • 00:14:57
    >> This is the West Side, where
  • 00:14:59
    it all began Sunday morning.
  • 00:15:01
    >> COBB: In the summer of
  • 00:15:02
    1967, two white cops beat up a
  • 00:15:04
    black cab driver, and the city
  • 00:15:06
    exploded.
  • 00:15:08
    >> Worst race riots rock New
  • 00:15:09
    Jersey's largest city for five
  • 00:15:11
    consecutive days and nights.
  • 00:15:13
    >> COBB: Newark cops, State
  • 00:15:14
    Police, and the National Guard
  • 00:15:15
    were accused of using
  • 00:15:17
    unjustified force to put down
  • 00:15:18
    the riots.
  • 00:15:20
    >> Sniper fire from open
  • 00:15:21
    windows, scores of police,
  • 00:15:23
    troopers, guardsmen and
  • 00:15:24
    civilians are wounded.
  • 00:15:28
    >> COBB: By the time it was
  • 00:15:30
    over, a white cop, a white
  • 00:15:32
    fireman, and 24 black civilians
  • 00:15:34
    were dead.
  • 00:15:39
    Back then, there was nothing the
  • 00:15:41
    federal government could do to
  • 00:15:42
    fix a troubled police
  • 00:15:43
    department.
  • 00:15:45
    >> Our top story this morning
  • 00:15:47
    comes from Los Angeles.
  • 00:15:48
    >> COBB: That changed in the
  • 00:15:49
    early 1990s, after four white
  • 00:15:51
    cops were acquitted in the
  • 00:15:52
    beating of Rodney King.
  • 00:15:54
    >> In the wake of violence
  • 00:15:55
    spawned by acquittals in the
  • 00:15:56
    Rodney King beating trial.
  • 00:15:58
    >> A city under smoke, a
  • 00:15:59
    city, it's safe to say,
  • 00:16:00
    under siege.
  • 00:16:01
    >> COBB: The Justice Department
  • 00:16:03
    was given the power to
  • 00:16:04
    investigate local police
  • 00:16:05
    departments and, if necessary,
  • 00:16:06
    impose reforms.
  • 00:16:10
    >> The Justice Department's
  • 00:16:11
    Civil Rights Division says the
  • 00:16:12
    Newark Police Department needs a
  • 00:16:13
    major overhaul.
  • 00:16:15
    >> COBB: Newark is one of 34
  • 00:16:16
    departments since then the DOJ
  • 00:16:18
    has ordered to make reforms.
  • 00:16:19
    >> ...to reverse a pattern of
  • 00:16:21
    police corruption that has
  • 00:16:22
    permeated the department and
  • 00:16:23
    poisoned...
  • 00:16:24
    >> Stop police brutality!
  • 00:16:25
    >> Stop police brutality!
  • 00:16:28
    >> COBB: The investigation
  • 00:16:29
    here began after years of
  • 00:16:31
    complaints about police
  • 00:16:32
    misconduct from local activists
  • 00:16:33
    and the ACLU.
  • 00:16:37
    The Justice Department issued a
  • 00:16:39
    49-page report.
  • 00:16:41
    >> What we found was there were
  • 00:16:42
    far too many uses of force that
  • 00:16:44
    were excessive, they weren't
  • 00:16:45
    appropriately documented, and
  • 00:16:46
    then they certainly weren't
  • 00:16:47
    investigated well at the end of
  • 00:16:48
    the day.
  • 00:16:51
    As a result of the many, many,
  • 00:16:52
    many complaints that we saw
  • 00:16:54
    over a six-year period, there
  • 00:16:55
    was only one complaint of
  • 00:16:56
    unjustified use of force that
  • 00:16:57
    was sustained by the Police
  • 00:16:59
    Department.
  • 00:17:00
    And so one of the things that
  • 00:17:02
    we're going to do now is retrain
  • 00:17:04
    the police entirely-- getting
  • 00:17:06
    training on force, getting
  • 00:17:07
    training on stops and arrests,
  • 00:17:10
    having the Police Department in
  • 00:17:11
    Newark think differently about
  • 00:17:14
    how it does its job and how it
  • 00:17:16
    relates to the people that it
  • 00:17:17
    serves.
  • 00:17:24
    >> From WBGO, this is Newark
  • 00:17:26
    Today, our monthly look at
  • 00:17:28
    what's happening in and around
  • 00:17:29
    New Jersey's largest city.
  • 00:17:31
    >> COBB: The DOJ's actions
  • 00:17:32
    are big news in Newark.
  • 00:17:35
    >> And welcome to Newark Today.
  • 00:17:36
    We have some pretty weighty
  • 00:17:38
    topics to get to tonight.
  • 00:17:39
    >> COBB: I sat in on a local
  • 00:17:41
    radio show where the new mayor,
  • 00:17:43
    Ras Baraka, talked about the DOJ
  • 00:17:45
    findings with the man he picked
  • 00:17:47
    to help change the department,
  • 00:17:48
    Eugene Venable.
  • 00:17:50
    >> Were you surprised at these
  • 00:17:51
    findings?
  • 00:17:52
    >> No.
  • 00:17:54
    I mean, I grew up in Newark.
  • 00:17:55
    I know that there are police
  • 00:17:56
    officers who have done things
  • 00:17:58
    that they have no business
  • 00:17:59
    doing.
  • 00:18:00
    I know that.
  • 00:18:01
    I've seen them.
  • 00:18:02
    Hanging out, you know, with a
  • 00:18:03
    lot of guys, you got searched,
  • 00:18:04
    you got stopped, you got put on
  • 00:18:05
    the wall, you got put on the
  • 00:18:06
    ground.
  • 00:18:07
    And I know how that feels.
  • 00:18:08
    It's traumatizing.
  • 00:18:10
    And being black in America, I
  • 00:18:11
    know that our relationship with
  • 00:18:12
    the Police Department has been
  • 00:18:13
    untenable at best.
  • 00:18:15
    So it is not surprising in the
  • 00:18:17
    fact that people will find that
  • 00:18:19
    police officers have violated
  • 00:18:21
    people's rights, their
  • 00:18:22
    constitutional rights in a
  • 00:18:24
    community.
  • 00:18:26
    The only difference is now we're
  • 00:18:28
    going to do something about it.
  • 00:18:32
    >> COBB: I've actually been
  • 00:18:33
    friends with Ras since we were
  • 00:18:34
    student activists at Howard
  • 00:18:36
    University in the late 1980s.
  • 00:18:38
    And I'd been a supporter of
  • 00:18:40
    his.
  • 00:18:41
    His father was the radical poet
  • 00:18:42
    Amiri Baraka, whose words
  • 00:18:44
    propelled the Black Power
  • 00:18:45
    movement of the 1960s and '70s.
  • 00:18:48
    >> We are communities looking
  • 00:18:49
    into the sky for a moment on the
  • 00:18:50
    clear way to liberation.
  • 00:18:52
    We are cities readying brothers
  • 00:18:54
    to lead us.
  • 00:18:55
    We are...
  • 00:18:57
    >> COBB: During the '67 riots he
  • 00:18:58
    was beaten severely by
  • 00:18:59
    Newark cops.
  • 00:19:01
    >> Today I feel so good that I
  • 00:19:05
    am from Newark, a boy from
  • 00:19:07
    Clinton Avenue and Tenth Street!
  • 00:19:10
    >> COBB: Ras himself spent
  • 00:19:11
    years protesting the police.
  • 00:19:13
    But as mayor, he's trying to
  • 00:19:15
    bridge the gap between the cops
  • 00:19:16
    and the community.
  • 00:19:17
    >> Everybody has to have a
  • 00:19:19
    responsibility.
  • 00:19:20
    The mayor has a responsibility,
  • 00:19:22
    yes.
  • 00:19:23
    The police have a
  • 00:19:24
    responsibility, yes.
  • 00:19:25
    We all have a responsibility.
  • 00:19:27
    And the question is, are you
  • 00:19:28
    living up to your
  • 00:19:29
    responsibility?
  • 00:19:30
    God bless you all, godspeed to
  • 00:19:31
    y'all.
  • 00:19:33
    >> COBB: He's been pushing
  • 00:19:34
    to set up community oversight of
  • 00:19:35
    the police, and he's also been
  • 00:19:36
    making himself a regular
  • 00:19:38
    presence with the cops.
  • 00:19:42
    I met up with Ras one day while
  • 00:19:44
    he was touring some precincts.
  • 00:19:47
    So we've been out with the Gang
  • 00:19:49
    Unit.
  • 00:19:50
    They're going around and getting
  • 00:19:51
    guns.
  • 00:19:53
    Getting illegal guns requires
  • 00:19:54
    you rolling up on folk.
  • 00:19:55
    How does that happen without
  • 00:19:57
    being the same sorts of policing
  • 00:19:58
    that people are protesting
  • 00:19:59
    about?
  • 00:20:00
    >> Intelligence-- who is
  • 00:20:02
    actually somebody you should
  • 00:20:04
    probably stop, and somebody
  • 00:20:06
    who's just Ms. Martha's kid
  • 00:20:07
    going to the store with his hat
  • 00:20:09
    to the back, right?
  • 00:20:10
    So I mean, that's...
  • 00:20:12
    intelligence gets you that
  • 00:20:13
    information, not just, like,
  • 00:20:15
    random stops.
  • 00:20:16
    That's not how you police.
  • 00:20:18
    I mean, that right there is
  • 00:20:19
    racism.
  • 00:20:20
    >> But these are black and brown
  • 00:20:21
    cops.
  • 00:20:22
    >> Yeah, so what?
  • 00:20:23
    >> Diverse police officer...
  • 00:20:25
    police force.
  • 00:20:26
    >> It's not the "who did it"
  • 00:20:27
    that make it racism.
  • 00:20:28
    To me it's the fact that
  • 00:20:31
    overwhelmingly it happens to one
  • 00:20:32
    specific group of people is what
  • 00:20:34
    makes it racism.
  • 00:20:38
    >> Is there a point where you
  • 00:20:40
    look around and go, like, "This
  • 00:20:41
    is going to be even harder than
  • 00:20:42
    I thought it would be"?
  • 00:20:44
    >> Oh, yeah.
  • 00:20:46
    It didn't get this way in five
  • 00:20:48
    years or ten years, and it's not
  • 00:20:50
    going to take five or ten years
  • 00:20:52
    to get out of it.
  • 00:20:54
    And then you got generational
  • 00:20:55
    poverty, generational
  • 00:20:56
    unemployment.
  • 00:20:58
    These buildings have been vacant
  • 00:21:00
    for 30, 40 years.
  • 00:21:02
    So they didn't just get vacant
  • 00:21:03
    when I became the mayor.
  • 00:21:05
    At the end of the day, there's
  • 00:21:06
    no tax base like the way you
  • 00:21:08
    need it, and you're trying to
  • 00:21:10
    run the state's largest city in
  • 00:21:11
    those kinds of conditions.
  • 00:21:14
    This is what we're dealing with,
  • 00:21:15
    man.
  • 00:21:23
    >> COBB: I followed him into
  • 00:21:25
    the Communications Center, where
  • 00:21:27
    they'd been having a lot of
  • 00:21:28
    trouble fielding 911 calls.
  • 00:21:30
    >> System still down?
  • 00:21:31
    >> Yes.
  • 00:21:32
    Crazy.
  • 00:21:34
    >> Which one of these computers
  • 00:21:35
    don't work?
  • 00:21:36
    >> They're not up, they're just
  • 00:21:38
    not up.
  • 00:21:39
    >> All those over there, they...
  • 00:21:40
    >> All are not up, they're not
  • 00:21:41
    up.
  • 00:21:42
    Newark Police, may I help you?
  • 00:21:44
    >> All of those computers over
  • 00:21:46
    there, they should be... every
  • 00:21:47
    time I come in here, they ain't
  • 00:21:48
    never on.
  • 00:21:49
    We put more people in here they
  • 00:21:50
    could be on those computers over
  • 00:21:52
    there.
  • 00:21:53
    They don't work, though, right?
  • 00:21:54
    >> They're down right now.
  • 00:21:55
    >> What you mean, they're down?
  • 00:21:56
    So you could turn it on and
  • 00:21:57
    it'll work, if we turned it on?
  • 00:21:58
    >> I'm not sure, but the last I
  • 00:22:00
    heard, it wasn't working.
  • 00:22:03
    >> Are you saying it's not
  • 00:22:04
    working, or it's down?
  • 00:22:05
    Which one?
  • 00:22:07
    >> It's down, it's not working.
  • 00:22:08
    >> The calls that's come in now,
  • 00:22:09
    what's... take me through the
  • 00:22:11
    process now.
  • 00:22:12
    >> Okay.
  • 00:22:13
    >> So how long were y'all down?
  • 00:22:15
    >> Friday.
  • 00:22:15
    But the system is messed up for
  • 00:22:17
    a long time.
  • 00:22:18
    And these supervisors, they
  • 00:22:19
    don't know what's going on.
  • 00:22:20
    They're not really supervising
  • 00:22:22
    this stuff like they should.
  • 00:22:23
    >> They'll receive the calls.
  • 00:22:25
    They're prioritized by color.
  • 00:22:27
    The higher priority calls go on
  • 00:22:28
    a pink card.
  • 00:22:30
    They'll put the assignments on
  • 00:22:32
    here.
  • 00:22:34
    We have a runner who will take
  • 00:22:35
    the card over here.
  • 00:22:36
    >> A lot of people think
  • 00:22:37
    response time sometimes has to
  • 00:22:38
    do with the police not
  • 00:22:39
    responding.
  • 00:22:41
    But a lot of it has to do with
  • 00:22:42
    communications when they call
  • 00:22:43
    the police and come pick up the
  • 00:22:44
    phone and being able to get to
  • 00:22:45
    an officer, all that stuff like
  • 00:22:46
    that.
  • 00:22:48
    The first part of it is trying
  • 00:22:49
    to get this communications
  • 00:22:50
    office correct.
  • 00:22:52
    And right now it's not where it
  • 00:22:53
    should be.
  • 00:22:54
    >> Then the runner will take it
  • 00:22:55
    from here, walk it over here.
  • 00:22:57
    >> We've just got to run this
  • 00:22:59
    thing efficiently and make sure
  • 00:23:00
    all the equipment work.
  • 00:23:01
    Like Monday, they're going to
  • 00:23:02
    put in a new system, because
  • 00:23:03
    right now they're doing all this
  • 00:23:04
    stuff manually.
  • 00:23:06
    >> The runner, when she comes
  • 00:23:07
    back over here, the runner will
  • 00:23:08
    take the card, bring it back
  • 00:23:09
    over here.
  • 00:23:10
    >> What we are gonna do is get
  • 00:23:11
    these police officers out of
  • 00:23:13
    here.
  • 00:23:14
    >> COBB: Oh, so they'd be out on
  • 00:23:15
    the street?
  • 00:23:16
    >> Yeah.
  • 00:23:17
    I don't think any police officer
  • 00:23:18
    should be in here.
  • 00:23:19
    I think it's a waste.
  • 00:23:20
    You've got people with guns in
  • 00:23:21
    here.
  • 00:23:22
    I don't know what they... I
  • 00:23:23
    don't think anybody's coming to
  • 00:23:24
    rob this place.
  • 00:23:25
    So...
  • 00:23:27
    >> Somebody robs this place,
  • 00:23:28
    you'd have big problems.
  • 00:23:29
    >> Yeah, man, it's like, come
  • 00:23:30
    on.
  • 00:23:33
    It's like 1,000 cops in here,
  • 00:23:34
    man.
  • 00:23:36
    There's too many damn cops in
  • 00:23:38
    here.
  • 00:23:39
    This stuff is a disaster, man.
  • 00:23:44
    >> Overtime.
  • 00:23:45
    Normally that overtime figure is
  • 00:23:46
    red; now it's blue.
  • 00:23:47
    >> COBB: Everywhere we went
  • 00:23:49
    with the mayor, I could see his
  • 00:23:50
    frustration, even with his
  • 00:23:52
    hand-picked police director.
  • 00:23:54
    >> We spent more money last week
  • 00:23:55
    than we ever have.
  • 00:23:56
    We spent $140,000 in overtime.
  • 00:23:58
    And every category that we have,
  • 00:23:59
    we was down in crime, because of
  • 00:24:00
    the expenditures that we put
  • 00:24:02
    out.
  • 00:24:03
    >> We were down in shootings
  • 00:24:05
    this Thanksgiving as from last
  • 00:24:06
    Thanksgiving?
  • 00:24:08
    >> Yes, by one.
  • 00:24:09
    >> By one.
  • 00:24:10
    >> By one.
  • 00:24:11
    And we was down by one murder.
  • 00:24:12
    >> So we had to spend a
  • 00:24:13
    hundred-something thousand
  • 00:24:14
    dollars to get down one?
  • 00:24:15
    >> Yes, Mayor.
  • 00:24:16
    >> That's not pretty efficient,
  • 00:24:17
    man.
  • 00:24:19
    I just think that we need better
  • 00:24:20
    intelligence, and it's not
  • 00:24:21
    working.
  • 00:24:22
    Instead of targeting random
  • 00:24:24
    individual people hoping we, you
  • 00:24:26
    know, get somebody, we target
  • 00:24:27
    individuals who we know are
  • 00:24:29
    known violent felons who've done
  • 00:24:31
    crimes and are involved in this
  • 00:24:32
    kind of stuff.
  • 00:24:34
    >> I agree with you.
  • 00:24:35
    It's the intelligence that we
  • 00:24:36
    need.
  • 00:24:37
    We don't have the intelligence.
  • 00:24:39
    None of us can really figure out
  • 00:24:40
    how the intelligence on which
  • 00:24:42
    people are going to commit
  • 00:24:44
    crimes, murders... and we need
  • 00:24:46
    to do better at that.
  • 00:24:51
    >> COBB: One murder in
  • 00:24:52
    particular was bothering the
  • 00:24:53
    mayor.
  • 00:24:55
    A week earlier, a young man died
  • 00:24:56
    in a gang-related shootout
  • 00:24:58
    across the street from the
  • 00:24:59
    police headquarters.
  • 00:25:02
    >> Did any police officers from
  • 00:25:03
    the precinct come outside when
  • 00:25:04
    that thing was going on?
  • 00:25:06
    >> I saw them come outside.
  • 00:25:07
    >> They came outside?
  • 00:25:08
    >> Yeah, but they didn't get out
  • 00:25:09
    there instantaneous as the
  • 00:25:11
    shootings happened.
  • 00:25:12
    Those people that's in the
  • 00:25:13
    precinct, they don't have a vest
  • 00:25:14
    on, Mayor, they don't have
  • 00:25:16
    anything.
  • 00:25:17
    So if there's shots fired
  • 00:25:18
    outside, I mean, I know they're
  • 00:25:19
    gonna risk their lives.
  • 00:25:20
    However, they're not gonna go to
  • 00:25:21
    the extreme where I'm just going
  • 00:25:22
    to run outside.
  • 00:25:23
    They've gotta find out what's
  • 00:25:24
    going on.
  • 00:25:25
    "Oh, there's somebody out there
  • 00:25:26
    shooting."
  • 00:25:27
    So then they run outside.
  • 00:25:29
    >> Oh, wow.
  • 00:25:33
    They started shooting on Madison
  • 00:25:35
    Avenue back and forth.
  • 00:25:36
    They came all the way down the
  • 00:25:37
    street.
  • 00:25:39
    The guy emptied his gun out.
  • 00:25:40
    Another guy shot him.
  • 00:25:42
    A series of bullets.
  • 00:25:44
    They're sitting in the precinct.
  • 00:25:45
    Nobody heard any of that.
  • 00:25:46
    You're saying they sat in there
  • 00:25:48
    because they were afraid?
  • 00:25:49
    >> No, I'm not saying that.
  • 00:25:50
    >> What are you saying?
  • 00:25:51
    >> I'm talking about whether
  • 00:25:52
    they were on the scene
  • 00:25:53
    instantaneously to stop these
  • 00:25:55
    guys from doing the shooting.
  • 00:25:56
    >> Okay.
  • 00:25:57
    Let's stop.
  • 00:25:58
    Let's stop.
  • 00:25:59
    All right.
  • 00:26:03
    >> COBB: Two weeks later,
  • 00:26:04
    Ras demoted Venable and put him
  • 00:26:06
    in charge of the communications
  • 00:26:07
    center.
  • 00:26:14
    >> Stick to police work.
  • 00:26:15
    >> COBB: A world away from
  • 00:26:17
    that conference room, the Gang
  • 00:26:18
    Unit was still trying to make a
  • 00:26:19
    dent in all the shootings.
  • 00:26:21
    >> Raymond, look at him!
  • 00:26:23
    >> Come on, bro.
  • 00:26:24
    >> Look at him!
  • 00:26:26
    >> COBB: We went out with
  • 00:26:28
    Tremayne Phillips, a second-
  • 00:26:29
    generation Newark cop, and Nate
  • 00:26:33
    Lhowe, a New Jersey state parole
  • 00:26:35
    officer assigned to the unit.
  • 00:26:39
    Right out of the gate, they get
  • 00:26:41
    a tip.
  • 00:26:44
    >> Yeah, pull over so I can give
  • 00:26:45
    you guys the info, and then
  • 00:26:46
    we've got to roll.
  • 00:26:47
    >> All right, all right,
  • 00:26:48
    received.
  • 00:26:49
    >> One of our guys is saying
  • 00:26:51
    they might have heard info
  • 00:26:52
    relating to someone having a
  • 00:26:53
    handgun.
  • 00:26:54
    So we'll come up with a plan.
  • 00:26:58
    >> Black male, blue jean jacket.
  • 00:27:00
    He's on Nutman walking toward
  • 00:27:02
    New Street, so he'll probably be
  • 00:27:04
    on New Street.
  • 00:27:05
    >> All right.
  • 00:27:07
    >> Showtime.
  • 00:27:10
    >> Out front.
  • 00:27:27
    >> Don't (bleep) move, (bleep).
  • 00:27:32
    >> Guys, we got it-- we got the
  • 00:27:33
    weapon, we got the weapon.
  • 00:27:34
    >> Cuff him.
  • 00:27:35
    >> Cuff him, cuff him.
  • 00:27:36
    >> Cuff him, and that's it.
  • 00:27:40
    >> All right, all right, all
  • 00:27:41
    right.
  • 00:27:42
    >> Clear, weapon clear.
  • 00:27:43
    >> Bring him back, bring him
  • 00:27:44
    back.
  • 00:27:48
    All right, sir, you dropped a
  • 00:27:50
    gun, okay?
  • 00:27:55
    >> Probably not.
  • 00:27:56
    >> He says he's good.
  • 00:27:57
    >> All right.
  • 00:27:59
    >> Six.
  • 00:28:00
    >> One was in the chamber,
  • 00:28:01
    right?
  • 00:28:02
    So the gun was ready to fire?
  • 00:28:05
    >> Just in the past month we've
  • 00:28:07
    gotten numerous guns off that
  • 00:28:09
    same block, that same area right
  • 00:28:10
    there.
  • 00:28:13
    >> COBB: Intelligence pays
  • 00:28:14
    off, but later that evening I
  • 00:28:16
    see what happens without it.
  • 00:28:25
    >> Hold on, hold on!
  • 00:28:31
    >> Stop, stop, stop.
  • 00:28:33
    >> You want to pull away from
  • 00:28:34
    me, man, you're going to get
  • 00:28:35
    hurt.
  • 00:28:35
    >> Stop resisting.
  • 00:28:36
    >> All right, just cuff him for
  • 00:28:37
    safety, cuff him for safety.
  • 00:28:45
    >> Stop.
  • 00:28:46
    Just stop, sir.
  • 00:28:47
    Just stop.
  • 00:28:49
    >> Sir, you're not under arrest.
  • 00:28:50
    This is just for your safety and
  • 00:28:51
    our safety.
  • 00:28:56
    All right, bring him up to his
  • 00:28:57
    feet.
  • 00:28:58
    >> Stand up, man.
  • 00:28:59
    Why are you acting like a jerk,
  • 00:29:00
    bro?
  • 00:29:01
    We stopped you to talk to you.
  • 00:29:05
    >> You can't pull away from a
  • 00:29:06
    cop.
  • 00:29:07
    >> Yes, you did, sir, okay, you
  • 00:29:08
    pulled away from me.
  • 00:29:09
    >> Bro, I said, "Don't touch me,
  • 00:29:10
    please."
  • 00:29:11
    Because y'all pulling up, what
  • 00:29:12
    the (bleep) did I do?
  • 00:29:13
    Nothing, I'm walking home.
  • 00:29:14
    >> We'll explain everything to
  • 00:29:15
    you.
  • 00:29:16
    >> You don't even know what the
  • 00:29:16
    hell's going... I'm going home.
  • 00:29:17
    >> Yeah, that's why we're
  • 00:29:18
    stopping to talk to you.
  • 00:29:19
    >> I am going home.
  • 00:29:20
    >> When you start pulling away,
  • 00:29:21
    it's on.
  • 00:29:22
    >> I didn't pull away from
  • 00:29:23
    nobody!
  • 00:29:23
    >> If you want to do that, we
  • 00:29:24
    could do that.
  • 00:29:25
    >> Do what?
  • 00:29:26
    >> Listen.
  • 00:29:27
    Where you live at?
  • 00:29:28
    >> Do you understand the reason
  • 00:29:29
    why you're cuffed?
  • 00:29:29
    >> No.
  • 00:29:30
    >> All right.
  • 00:29:31
    Now, when we came and approached
  • 00:29:32
    you, what did you do?
  • 00:29:33
    You automatically pushed away
  • 00:29:34
    from us.
  • 00:29:34
    >> No, I said, "Don't touch me,"
  • 00:29:35
    and kept walking.
  • 00:29:36
    >> Listen, you're making us
  • 00:29:37
    think you have a weapon, the way
  • 00:29:38
    you ran away.
  • 00:29:39
    Okay? Understand that.
  • 00:29:40
    >> Oh, man.
  • 00:29:41
    Okay.
  • 00:29:42
    >> Listen, just relax.
  • 00:29:43
    >> You got it?
  • 00:29:44
    Find out who he is.
  • 00:29:45
    >> Turn around, we're going to
  • 00:29:45
    walk, okay?
  • 00:29:46
    My man, it's not wise to pull
  • 00:29:48
    away from us like that, you
  • 00:29:48
    hear?
  • 00:29:49
    >> Not my fault, man.
  • 00:29:50
    >> All right?
  • 00:29:51
    >> You were drinking today?
  • 00:29:52
    >> Yes, I was, actually.
  • 00:29:53
    >> Let me ask you, if you were
  • 00:29:54
    to drink less, would this ever
  • 00:29:55
    happen?
  • 00:29:56
    >> I only had one beer, and yes
  • 00:29:57
    it would have, because we see so
  • 00:30:00
    much violence going on in the
  • 00:30:01
    hoods right now.
  • 00:30:02
    And not just the hoods,
  • 00:30:03
    everywhere.
  • 00:30:04
    You know, this... the violence
  • 00:30:05
    from police is crazy right now.
  • 00:30:07
    And the way y'all approached me,
  • 00:30:09
    all I was doing was walking
  • 00:30:10
    home.
  • 00:30:11
    If y'all would have said, "Young
  • 00:30:12
    man, what are you doing?"
  • 00:30:12
    >> What are you doing today?
  • 00:30:13
    >> Going home.
  • 00:30:14
    I don't care about the...
  • 00:30:15
    >> You see how fast that was?
  • 00:30:16
    >> Do not stereotype, because
  • 00:30:18
    that's what y'all did to me.
  • 00:30:19
    >> We have an arrest.
  • 00:30:20
    >> Against who?
  • 00:30:21
    >> Him!
  • 00:30:22
    Narcotics.
  • 00:30:23
    >> Who?
  • 00:30:24
    >> The dude you was walking
  • 00:30:25
    with.
  • 00:30:26
    >> No!
  • 00:30:26
    What do you mean, he had drugs
  • 00:30:27
    on him?
  • 00:30:28
    No, he didn't!
  • 00:30:29
    >> Yes, he did.
  • 00:30:30
    >> What do you mean?
  • 00:30:31
    He was with me all day.
  • 00:30:32
    >> He's in the car with us.
  • 00:30:32
    >> Well, he has drugs today.
  • 00:30:33
    >> Come on, bro.
  • 00:30:34
    I don't know what y'all trying
  • 00:30:35
    to pull.
  • 00:30:36
    Y'all ain't find no drugs on me,
  • 00:30:37
    right?
  • 00:30:37
    >> That's why you're free to go,
  • 00:30:38
    that's why you're not in cuffs!
  • 00:30:39
    Have a good day, sir.
  • 00:30:40
    >> Y'all be easy.
  • 00:30:45
    >> Thank you, Terrone.
  • 00:30:46
    As soon as I approached him, he
  • 00:30:47
    was immediately hostile.
  • 00:30:49
    So, I basically went to just
  • 00:30:50
    control his hand in case... you
  • 00:30:52
    know, fearing that he might have
  • 00:30:53
    had a weapon or something.
  • 00:30:54
    Or, you know, just to basically
  • 00:30:56
    get a little physical control
  • 00:30:57
    over him.
  • 00:30:58
    And at that point, he pulled
  • 00:30:59
    away from me, so I decided to
  • 00:31:02
    take him to the ground and just
  • 00:31:03
    get him under control and then
  • 00:31:04
    determine what was going on with
  • 00:31:05
    him.
  • 00:31:07
    I didn't deal with the other
  • 00:31:08
    kid, but it looked like the
  • 00:31:09
    other kid had... was arrested
  • 00:31:10
    for possession of CDS, so, I
  • 00:31:11
    mean, they were involved in
  • 00:31:13
    something.
  • 00:31:16
    I mean, it might have been
  • 00:31:18
    fairly minor, but it was
  • 00:31:19
    something.
  • 00:31:30
    >> COBB: While the officers
  • 00:31:32
    seemed certain about that stop,
  • 00:31:33
    I remained troubled by it.
  • 00:31:35
    I requested the report on the
  • 00:31:36
    incident, and also wanted to
  • 00:31:38
    know what the unit's supervisor,
  • 00:31:39
    Sergeant Conzentino, thought of
  • 00:31:41
    how it went down.
  • 00:31:43
    >> COBB: I wanted to kind of go
  • 00:31:45
    through something that we shot
  • 00:31:46
    the other day.
  • 00:31:48
    And it's of an encounter...
  • 00:31:51
    >> With the Gang Unit?
  • 00:31:52
    >> With the Gang Unit.
  • 00:31:54
    >> Yo!
  • 00:31:55
    Yo!
  • 00:31:56
    >> Don't touch me, bro.
  • 00:31:57
    Don't touch me.
  • 00:31:58
    Hold up!
  • 00:31:59
    >> Get on the (bleep) ground!
  • 00:32:01
    >> Hold up, hold up, hold up!
  • 00:32:02
    I'm not doing nothing!
  • 00:32:03
    I'm not doing nothing!
  • 00:32:04
    Come on, man!
  • 00:32:05
    Come on, come on.
  • 00:32:06
    >> Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
  • 00:32:07
    You wanna pull away from me,
  • 00:32:08
    man, you're going to get hurt.
  • 00:32:09
    All right, just cuff him for
  • 00:32:10
    safety.
  • 00:32:11
    >> I didn't do nothing.
  • 00:32:12
    >> Stop.
  • 00:32:13
    Just stop, sir.
  • 00:32:14
    Just stop.
  • 00:32:15
    >> Sir, you're not under arrest.
  • 00:32:17
    This is just for your safety and
  • 00:32:18
    our safety, okay?
  • 00:32:19
    >> I'm going home.
  • 00:32:20
    >> Yeah, that's why we're
  • 00:32:20
    stopping you to talk to you.
  • 00:32:21
    When you start pulling away,
  • 00:32:22
    it's on.
  • 00:32:23
    >> I didn't pull away from
  • 00:32:24
    nobody!
  • 00:32:26
    >> COBB: So was that a good
  • 00:32:27
    stop? Not a good stop?
  • 00:32:28
    >> You know what?
  • 00:32:29
    It starts at the point where
  • 00:32:31
    they encountered him.
  • 00:32:33
    I would have to read the report
  • 00:32:34
    to see exactly how that
  • 00:32:35
    unfolded.
  • 00:32:36
    But I understand that by
  • 00:32:38
    perception, by perception only,
  • 00:32:41
    that would look like it was a
  • 00:32:42
    bad stop, by perception.
  • 00:32:45
    >> COBB: I think what disturbed
  • 00:32:46
    me most about that video was
  • 00:32:49
    that I think if I had been in
  • 00:32:50
    that position, I would have
  • 00:32:52
    pulled away too.
  • 00:32:53
    Almost by human instinct, if
  • 00:32:54
    you're surrounded by people who
  • 00:32:56
    are coming at you in a rush,
  • 00:32:57
    you're going to back up.
  • 00:32:59
    And that was kind of seen as
  • 00:33:01
    justification for...
  • 00:33:02
    >> See, I understand what you're
  • 00:33:03
    saying, but see, this is where
  • 00:33:04
    we differ.
  • 00:33:05
    See, my thing is... and again,
  • 00:33:08
    if I get stopped by the police--
  • 00:33:10
    and I am a police officer-- I
  • 00:33:13
    listen.
  • 00:33:15
    I routinely put my hand, if I'm
  • 00:33:18
    in the car, up on the roof.
  • 00:33:20
    I take all the precautions, too.
  • 00:33:22
    But in that situation there, or
  • 00:33:24
    any situation, I think I would
  • 00:33:27
    have complied.
  • 00:33:29
    I understand what your instincts
  • 00:33:30
    are, but when you say you're
  • 00:33:32
    being surrounded, you're being
  • 00:33:33
    surrounded by officers that you
  • 00:33:35
    can clearly see are officers.
  • 00:33:36
    I don't believe it had to go
  • 00:33:38
    there, if he would've just...
  • 00:33:39
    >> COBB: But see, this is the
  • 00:33:41
    thing, like, the key difference,
  • 00:33:43
    which is that, you know, kind of
  • 00:33:44
    being surrounded by police is
  • 00:33:46
    not a position in which you feel
  • 00:33:48
    like you're safe, for someone
  • 00:33:49
    like me.
  • 00:33:50
    >> I understand that.
  • 00:33:51
    >> COBB: I would say, you know,
  • 00:33:52
    I don't know what's happening
  • 00:33:54
    here, I don't know what the
  • 00:33:55
    agenda of these people is, I
  • 00:33:56
    know I'm surrounded.
  • 00:33:57
    The idea of complying is like,
  • 00:33:59
    sure, that may be your second
  • 00:34:00
    thought.
  • 00:34:01
    Your immediate thought is,
  • 00:34:02
    you know, "I'm in jeopardy."
  • 00:34:03
    Like, "What's happening here?"
  • 00:34:04
    I think that fundamentally the
  • 00:34:05
    difference is, do you... if you
  • 00:34:07
    are surrounded by police
  • 00:34:08
    officers, do you feel more safe
  • 00:34:09
    or less safe than you were two
  • 00:34:10
    minutes earlier?
  • 00:34:11
    >> Right, and what needs to be,
  • 00:34:12
    is that you need to feel like
  • 00:34:14
    you're safe, and that you can
  • 00:34:16
    explain, and then the
  • 00:34:17
    situation's over.
  • 00:34:19
    It's not that way right now.
  • 00:34:20
    >> COBB: In that moment, you're
  • 00:34:22
    actually about to make a stop
  • 00:34:24
    of this person, where's your
  • 00:34:25
    head?
  • 00:34:27
    >> I'll admit there's times when
  • 00:34:28
    I have fear.
  • 00:34:30
    And I think fear is probably one
  • 00:34:31
    of your best friends.
  • 00:34:32
    And there are times when you
  • 00:34:34
    hear gunshots and we have to run
  • 00:34:36
    to those shots.
  • 00:34:38
    Most people can't equate or
  • 00:34:39
    understand what that's about.
  • 00:34:40
    Your heart rate, when it starts
  • 00:34:42
    to increase, and, you know,
  • 00:34:43
    you're running.
  • 00:34:44
    And then you're gonna encounter
  • 00:34:45
    someone, and you may ultimately
  • 00:34:47
    have to wrestle with that
  • 00:34:48
    person.
  • 00:34:49
    You've got some bad people out
  • 00:34:50
    there that have no problem going
  • 00:34:52
    to the mat with a police officer
  • 00:34:54
    and trying to take their gun,
  • 00:34:56
    and maybe even using it against
  • 00:34:58
    them.
  • 00:34:59
    So I don't think anybody could
  • 00:35:01
    ever understand the stress of
  • 00:35:02
    the situation.
  • 00:35:10
    >> COBB: I've heard about
  • 00:35:11
    the stress of the job over and
  • 00:35:12
    over again.
  • 00:35:14
    Many cops today feel like
  • 00:35:15
    they're under siege from all
  • 00:35:16
    sides.
  • 00:35:17
    Especially James Stewart, the
  • 00:35:19
    president of Newark's largest
  • 00:35:21
    police union.
  • 00:35:22
    >> I'm a fourth-generation
  • 00:35:24
    police officer here in Newark.
  • 00:35:25
    My great-grandfather started in
  • 00:35:27
    1890, my grandfather, my father,
  • 00:35:29
    who retired in 2003, and now me.
  • 00:35:32
    And I'm in my 21st year.
  • 00:35:34
    I don't know that too many more
  • 00:35:37
    guys want their family members
  • 00:35:39
    to follow in their footsteps the
  • 00:35:41
    way this profession's going.
  • 00:35:43
    And specifically the way things
  • 00:35:44
    are going here in Newark.
  • 00:35:46
    Somewhere along the line we have
  • 00:35:47
    become the bad guy.
  • 00:35:48
    Everybody's against us.
  • 00:35:50
    You know, F the police.
  • 00:35:51
    That's become the way of the
  • 00:35:52
    community now.
  • 00:35:54
    You know, I mean, who is the guy
  • 00:35:55
    that's going to say, "I want to
  • 00:35:56
    go be a Newark cop"?
  • 00:35:58
    They have minimal starting pay.
  • 00:36:00
    We're gonna take away half of
  • 00:36:02
    your benefits.
  • 00:36:03
    We have our own administration
  • 00:36:05
    against us here.
  • 00:36:06
    And you got the Department of
  • 00:36:08
    Justice overseeing your
  • 00:36:09
    department.
  • 00:36:11
    Who's gonna want the job?
  • 00:36:12
    After Taco Bell says no, and
  • 00:36:13
    after Sears says no, and
  • 00:36:15
    McDonald's won't have you,
  • 00:36:16
    "Well, maybe the Newark Police
  • 00:36:18
    Department's hiring."
  • 00:36:19
    You know, "Let me go see what
  • 00:36:20
    they've got to offer."
  • 00:36:21
    >> COBB: What do you think the
  • 00:36:22
    prospects for reform are here?
  • 00:36:24
    >> I know it's a necessity.
  • 00:36:27
    I don't know where the problem
  • 00:36:29
    started, but there is an
  • 00:36:31
    animosity or a lack of trust.
  • 00:36:34
    You know, as soon as there's any
  • 00:36:35
    sort of physical force exerted
  • 00:36:36
    by a police officer, everybody's
  • 00:36:38
    got their cell phones out.
  • 00:36:39
    You know, they want to catch us
  • 00:36:40
    doing something wrong.
  • 00:36:41
    You know, no one's jumping in to
  • 00:36:42
    help us subdue this guy that
  • 00:36:43
    just robbed a woman down the
  • 00:36:44
    street, but they want to catch
  • 00:36:46
    us doing something wrong.
  • 00:36:47
    And when you got the cop out
  • 00:36:49
    there in the street facing all
  • 00:36:51
    this negative opposition day in
  • 00:36:53
    and day out, does it come a
  • 00:36:55
    point when the police officer's
  • 00:36:57
    going to say, "You know what?
  • 00:36:58
    Maybe he doesn't have to go to
  • 00:36:59
    jail."
  • 00:37:01
    You know, "Maybe I'll take the
  • 00:37:02
    path of least resistance, maybe
  • 00:37:03
    I'll put the blinders on as I'm
  • 00:37:05
    driving by the corner where the
  • 00:37:06
    ten guys are hanging out."
  • 00:37:07
    You know, is that what the
  • 00:37:09
    community wants, too?
  • 00:37:14
    >> I can't imagine too many
  • 00:37:16
    folks in Newark would just want
  • 00:37:17
    the police to stand down.
  • 00:37:19
    But I did want to talk to people
  • 00:37:20
    here about how they feel about
  • 00:37:22
    the department.
  • 00:37:24
    So I went to visit an old friend
  • 00:37:25
    of mine, Ryan Haygood.
  • 00:37:27
    Sir?
  • 00:37:30
    >> How are you doing?
  • 00:37:31
    >> COBB: Good to see you.
  • 00:37:32
    >> Can't believe that I saw you
  • 00:37:33
    in the Mini Cooper.
  • 00:37:34
    >> COBB: I know, that's me.
  • 00:37:36
    That is me, the Mini Cooper out
  • 00:37:37
    there, yeah.
  • 00:37:38
    I love that thing.
  • 00:37:39
    He's an attorney and a longtime
  • 00:37:41
    resident who hosts a regular
  • 00:37:42
    block watch meeting of his
  • 00:37:44
    neighbors.
  • 00:37:45
    He invited some of them over to
  • 00:37:46
    meet with me.
  • 00:37:48
    Were you all surprised to find
  • 00:37:50
    that the Police Department was
  • 00:37:52
    under investigation by the
  • 00:37:53
    Department of Justice?
  • 00:37:56
    >> No, I wasn't.
  • 00:37:57
    >> COBB: Why not?
  • 00:37:58
    >> Because I know the history of
  • 00:37:59
    the Newark Police Department.
  • 00:38:00
    I'm 65.
  • 00:38:02
    So I'm probably a littler older
  • 00:38:03
    or might be the oldest thing in
  • 00:38:04
    this room.
  • 00:38:05
    And the Newark Police
  • 00:38:07
    Department-- and we're talking
  • 00:38:08
    about '70s and, I guess, the
  • 00:38:09
    '60s-- they treated African
  • 00:38:10
    Americans very unfair.
  • 00:38:11
    Truly unfair.
  • 00:38:13
    There's a culture, and
  • 00:38:14
    particularly dealing with white
  • 00:38:15
    policemen.
  • 00:38:16
    They see young black men or
  • 00:38:19
    black men as thugs.
  • 00:38:20
    So for me, in order to survive,
  • 00:38:23
    you have to know the system.
  • 00:38:24
    There's certain clothes I won't
  • 00:38:25
    wear.
  • 00:38:27
    I will never fit the profile.
  • 00:38:28
    I taught my son and my daughter
  • 00:38:29
    that.
  • 00:38:32
    >> It depends on the
  • 00:38:33
    socioeconomic or the profile of
  • 00:38:34
    the individuals in how you
  • 00:38:36
    experience the police.
  • 00:38:38
    I certainly believe that there
  • 00:38:39
    is an expectation that the
  • 00:38:41
    police are going to crack down
  • 00:38:42
    on the level of murders, the
  • 00:38:44
    violence, the robberies that are
  • 00:38:45
    taking place.
  • 00:38:47
    >> I teach first grade, so
  • 00:38:48
    seven-year-olds.
  • 00:38:50
    And so I have little boys in my
  • 00:38:51
    classroom who are like, "Oh, no,
  • 00:38:52
    I don't like the police."
  • 00:38:54
    They're saying to me that, you
  • 00:38:55
    know, "Well, the police came in
  • 00:38:57
    my house and they got my dad."
  • 00:38:58
    Or, "They stripped someone from
  • 00:38:59
    my house."
  • 00:39:00
    And it's, like, a violent
  • 00:39:01
    encounter with the police.
  • 00:39:03
    When seven-year-olds have a
  • 00:39:04
    repulsive response to the
  • 00:39:05
    police, you have a problem.
  • 00:39:07
    >> COBB: We've been out on
  • 00:39:08
    patrol with some officers who
  • 00:39:10
    are making a major initiative to
  • 00:39:12
    get guns off the street.
  • 00:39:13
    And you know, they're kind of
  • 00:39:15
    stopping people.
  • 00:39:18
    They're pulling over... frisking
  • 00:39:20
    people in some instances.
  • 00:39:21
    And I have to say that what I
  • 00:39:22
    saw was very disturbing.
  • 00:39:26
    This is what people have said is
  • 00:39:28
    necessary in order to get guns
  • 00:39:29
    off the street.
  • 00:39:31
    >> I don't see an inconsistency
  • 00:39:33
    with the respecting people's
  • 00:39:34
    constitutional rights and
  • 00:39:37
    protecting public safety.
  • 00:39:39
    In our area we do have neighbors
  • 00:39:41
    who have been victimized in
  • 00:39:42
    violent ways by crime.
  • 00:39:44
    But it doesn't mean that police
  • 00:39:45
    officers can, in three out of
  • 00:39:46
    four of the stops, violate
  • 00:39:48
    people's constitutional rights.
  • 00:39:49
    And police officers, as they've
  • 00:39:51
    been under investigation in
  • 00:39:53
    Newark for many years, when they
  • 00:39:54
    were violating rights, the city
  • 00:39:55
    wasn't safer.
  • 00:39:56
    So it's not the case to say that
  • 00:39:57
    if you violate constitutional
  • 00:39:59
    rights it's a safer society.
  • 00:40:00
    >> But that's the position that
  • 00:40:01
    they put us in, our communities
  • 00:40:02
    in.
  • 00:40:04
    They make it seem like, "Well,
  • 00:40:05
    this is the way we have to do
  • 00:40:06
    it."
  • 00:40:07
    We know it's not true.
  • 00:40:09
    I mean, if you watch Cops, the
  • 00:40:10
    television show, you see white
  • 00:40:11
    people going off on police
  • 00:40:12
    officers, and nothing happens to
  • 00:40:13
    these people.
  • 00:40:14
    And it's really bad that we are
  • 00:40:15
    in a position where you say,
  • 00:40:16
    "Well, Mother, do you want this
  • 00:40:18
    to raise your child in a safer
  • 00:40:19
    neighborhood?"
  • 00:40:21
    And what do you think we're
  • 00:40:22
    gonna say?
  • 00:40:23
    "Do whatever you can do to keep
  • 00:40:24
    my neighborhood safe."
  • 00:40:25
    It's bad when they put us in a
  • 00:40:26
    position to say, "Do you want
  • 00:40:27
    this, or do you want that?"
  • 00:40:32
    >> COBB: In Newark, you are
  • 00:40:33
    reminded of that bind all too
  • 00:40:35
    often on the local news.
  • 00:40:37
    A couple of months after I was
  • 00:40:38
    out with them, the Newark Gang
  • 00:40:40
    Unit was a top story.
  • 00:40:42
    >> Eighth grader Jamod Watkins
  • 00:40:44
    was allegedly assaulted by
  • 00:40:46
    undercover officers in Newark--
  • 00:40:48
    officers his attorney says
  • 00:40:49
    failed to initially identify
  • 00:40:50
    themselves.
  • 00:40:52
    >> These police officers knocked
  • 00:40:54
    him down and grabbed his left
  • 00:40:55
    arm and pulled it behind his
  • 00:40:57
    back with such force that it
  • 00:40:59
    cracked it in half.
  • 00:41:02
    >> COBB: It turns out one of
  • 00:41:03
    the officers is Wilberto Ruiz.
  • 00:41:05
    >> They get confused whether
  • 00:41:06
    we're actually criminals.
  • 00:41:08
    They say, "Oh, I thought you
  • 00:41:09
    guys were the stickup guys," or,
  • 00:41:10
    "I thought you guys was gonna
  • 00:41:11
    rob me."
  • 00:41:12
    >> COBB: The department is
  • 00:41:13
    investigating the allegations,
  • 00:41:14
    but he has already been
  • 00:41:15
    disciplined for not filing a
  • 00:41:17
    report about the incident.
  • 00:41:19
    We also found out that another
  • 00:41:21
    officer we'd met in the gang
  • 00:41:22
    unit, Kenneth Gaulette, was
  • 00:41:24
    suspended and charged for
  • 00:41:25
    allegedly coercing a woman to
  • 00:41:27
    perform oral sex in exchange for
  • 00:41:29
    leniency.
  • 00:41:31
    He's pled not guilty.
  • 00:41:36
    >> Let's give a hand for our
  • 00:41:37
    mayor, Ras J. Baraka.
  • 00:41:40
    >> Thank you.
  • 00:41:42
    20 percent of the neighborhoods
  • 00:41:44
    is experiencing the majority of
  • 00:41:45
    the violence in the city.
  • 00:41:48
    So if you live in that 20
  • 00:41:50
    percent area, it feels like hell
  • 00:41:51
    to you.
  • 00:41:53
    >> COBB: Over the past two
  • 00:41:55
    years, Ras has been struggling
  • 00:41:57
    to clean up the department.
  • 00:41:59
    After demoting his first police
  • 00:42:02
    director, he hired back a man
  • 00:42:04
    who had led the department a
  • 00:42:05
    decade earlier, Anthony Ambrose.
  • 00:42:08
    >> ...because of fearing
  • 00:42:09
    retaliation.
  • 00:42:10
    I think that if you see
  • 00:42:12
    something, say something.
  • 00:42:13
    >> COBB: I was surprised
  • 00:42:14
    that Ras turned to the old guard
  • 00:42:16
    of the Newark police.
  • 00:42:18
    In the midst of reform, you
  • 00:42:20
    brought in a public safety
  • 00:42:22
    director from a previous time in
  • 00:42:25
    Newark.
  • 00:42:26
    He's been here when, you know,
  • 00:42:28
    many of the problems occurred.
  • 00:42:29
    And so I didn't understand how
  • 00:42:31
    that lent itself to reform.
  • 00:42:33
    >> I think our problem is larger
  • 00:42:34
    than just an individual, though.
  • 00:42:36
    So it's a systemic problem that
  • 00:42:38
    we have.
  • 00:42:40
    I think that he had the
  • 00:42:42
    demeanor, the respect of the
  • 00:42:44
    people in the department.
  • 00:42:45
    And we obviously... the
  • 00:42:46
    direction that we're going in is
  • 00:42:47
    not a backward direction, but a
  • 00:42:48
    forward direction.
  • 00:42:50
    And if he can go in a forward
  • 00:42:51
    direction with us, then we
  • 00:42:52
    welcome him to be a part of
  • 00:42:53
    that.
  • 00:42:54
    Unfortunately, it's not a very
  • 00:42:55
    easy process.
  • 00:42:56
    It's difficult.
  • 00:42:58
    Any change is difficult.
  • 00:42:59
    You know, especially in an
  • 00:43:01
    entrenched institution like a
  • 00:43:02
    police department.
  • 00:43:03
    >> COBB: We talked with a lot of
  • 00:43:05
    people on the police force who
  • 00:43:06
    don't really seem to see a
  • 00:43:09
    problem here.
  • 00:43:10
    >> Sure.
  • 00:43:12
    You know, it's a fresh wound.
  • 00:43:13
    It's like, it's not... I mean,
  • 00:43:15
    there's going to be a level of
  • 00:43:16
    denial.
  • 00:43:17
    You're talking about people who
  • 00:43:18
    have to admit that there was
  • 00:43:20
    some wrongdoing.
  • 00:43:21
    If they don't see that at all,
  • 00:43:23
    then it's difficult to change
  • 00:43:24
    them.
  • 00:43:25
    And so most of the work is
  • 00:43:26
    about, how do you change the
  • 00:43:28
    culture of police officers to
  • 00:43:29
    prevent this?
  • 00:43:41
    >> COBB: Ras says that
  • 00:43:42
    change is already starting to
  • 00:43:44
    happen.
  • 00:43:45
    So I went for one last
  • 00:43:47
    ride-along with a cop I was told
  • 00:43:49
    represents a different kind of
  • 00:43:50
    policing that's not just about
  • 00:43:52
    making arrests, but building
  • 00:43:53
    trust and relationships.
  • 00:43:57
    >> We're going to go over to
  • 00:43:59
    Riverview Court.
  • 00:44:01
    For the past few months there
  • 00:44:03
    has been a spike in violent
  • 00:44:05
    crime, specifically shootings.
  • 00:44:07
    We had a few murders within the
  • 00:44:10
    complex.
  • 00:44:11
    So we can start gathering up
  • 00:44:13
    intelligence.
  • 00:44:14
    >> COBB: Sergeant Rasheen
  • 00:44:15
    Peppers works in the Criminal
  • 00:44:16
    Intelligence Unit.
  • 00:44:23
    >> Because we know in the word
  • 00:44:24
    "community" there's unity.
  • 00:44:25
    >> That's right.
  • 00:44:26
    >> Pray for unity in our
  • 00:44:27
    community.
  • 00:44:28
    >> COBB: When we arrived,
  • 00:44:30
    there was a vigil for a man who
  • 00:44:31
    was murdered the day before.
  • 00:44:32
    >> You will see that these drugs
  • 00:44:34
    in our community is the enemy.
  • 00:44:35
    That they were set up to destroy
  • 00:44:37
    our people.
  • 00:44:38
    >> COBB: And Peppers worked
  • 00:44:39
    the crowd for leads.
  • 00:44:45
    >> You can see just being here
  • 00:44:46
    for a few seconds how, because
  • 00:44:48
    of relationships, people, "Oh,
  • 00:44:50
    Peppers is here," you know,
  • 00:44:52
    "Peppers, you can talk to her."
  • 00:44:53
    >> Stop the violence.
  • 00:44:55
    >> Stop the violence.
  • 00:44:56
    >> COBB: After just a few
  • 00:44:57
    minutes a woman agreed to speak
  • 00:44:58
    to him in private about what
  • 00:45:00
    she'd seen.
  • 00:45:01
    >> She gave me everything from
  • 00:45:03
    what happened.
  • 00:45:05
    She says, "I was there.
  • 00:45:06
    I was right next to the person,
  • 00:45:08
    this is what took place."
  • 00:45:09
    You just don't get that from
  • 00:45:12
    being a cop.
  • 00:45:14
    You get that from relationships.
  • 00:45:16
    So if I wasn't a guy who was
  • 00:45:17
    part of the community, and I
  • 00:45:19
    only came out just to do
  • 00:45:20
    policing, right, that might be
  • 00:45:21
    an issue if someone trusted to
  • 00:45:23
    tell me this information.
  • 00:45:25
    So you have to be a part of the
  • 00:45:26
    community.
  • 00:45:28
    You have to be a stakeholder
  • 00:45:29
    in the community.
  • 00:45:30
    >> COBB: I mean, I think that's
  • 00:45:31
    notable to me, because that's so
  • 00:45:33
    distinct from what the
  • 00:45:35
    Department of Justice report
  • 00:45:36
    said about the Newark Police
  • 00:45:38
    Department.
  • 00:45:39
    What's in that report and the
  • 00:45:40
    Department of Justice
  • 00:45:42
    investigation is not policing
  • 00:45:43
    that looks like that.
  • 00:45:44
    >> Okay, and I agree, right?
  • 00:45:47
    What's in the report, no.
  • 00:45:49
    It shows that, you know, we were
  • 00:45:51
    violating people's rights.
  • 00:45:53
    You know, and granted, some
  • 00:45:55
    officers were.
  • 00:45:57
    >> COBB: So what do you think
  • 00:45:58
    the biggest challenge is to
  • 00:46:02
    creating the type of police
  • 00:46:03
    force that you are describing in
  • 00:46:06
    Newark?
  • 00:46:07
    >> Changing the culture.
  • 00:46:10
    That's the biggest challenge.
  • 00:46:11
    Getting officers to buy in,
  • 00:46:15
    to... there's a new way of
  • 00:46:17
    policing; policing has evolved.
  • 00:46:18
    That's the hardest part.
  • 00:46:20
    You know, and that's with anyone
  • 00:46:21
    that's been stuck doing one
  • 00:46:22
    thing one way for 20 years, and
  • 00:46:24
    saying, "Look, this is how it
  • 00:46:25
    should be.
  • 00:46:27
    We've done it wrong.
  • 00:46:29
    Now we can get it right."
  • 00:46:35
    >> COBB: We drove on to a
  • 00:46:36
    different neighborhood, where
  • 00:46:38
    Peppers was looking for intel on
  • 00:46:39
    yet another murder.
  • 00:46:41
    >> We're going to go up here.
  • 00:46:43
    They had a murder yesterday of a
  • 00:46:45
    female, early 40s.
  • 00:46:48
    She was shot in the head.
  • 00:46:51
    She just had her earphones on.
  • 00:46:53
    She didn't even see it coming.
  • 00:46:54
    >> COBB: Good Lord.
  • 00:46:56
    >> But at the end of the day, it
  • 00:46:58
    could be our moms, you know, our
  • 00:47:01
    sisters, it could be any of us.
  • 00:47:03
    >> COBB: But while he tries
  • 00:47:04
    to work with the community, the
  • 00:47:06
    community doesn't always want to
  • 00:47:07
    work with him.
  • 00:47:08
    >> Hey, what's up, man?
  • 00:47:10
    Can I talk to you for a second?
  • 00:47:18
    >> Now, one reason I'm glad that
  • 00:47:22
    happened is because, you know,
  • 00:47:24
    that goes to show you how they
  • 00:47:27
    don't want you... there's those
  • 00:47:29
    that don't want you in the
  • 00:47:33
    community, right?
  • 00:47:35
    There's those who think it's
  • 00:47:36
    uncool to speak to the cops, but
  • 00:47:39
    it's cool to have shrines like
  • 00:47:40
    this up and down a block.
  • 00:47:42
    You know, this to them is cool,
  • 00:47:44
    okay?
  • 00:47:46
    And, you know, how do we change
  • 00:47:49
    that mentality?
  • 00:47:58
    >> This is the train to Newark,
  • 00:48:00
    Penn Station.
  • 00:48:01
    >> COBB: After spending a year
  • 00:48:03
    in and out of Newark, there are
  • 00:48:04
    no easy answers.
  • 00:48:05
    Recently, the Gang Unit we'd spt
  • 00:48:07
    so much time with was disbanded.
  • 00:48:09
    Most of the guys were put on
  • 00:48:11
    desk jobs.
  • 00:48:13
    And more changes are coming.
  • 00:48:16
    The city and the
  • 00:48:17
    Department of Justice finally
  • 00:48:18
    reached an agreement that
  • 00:48:20
    mandates new policies and
  • 00:48:21
    training, requirements for body
  • 00:48:22
    cameras, and standards for
  • 00:48:24
    punishing officers for
  • 00:48:25
    misconduct.
  • 00:48:27
    >> Ain't no power like the power
  • 00:48:28
    of the people, 'cause the power
  • 00:48:29
    of the people don't stop.
  • 00:48:30
    >> Say what?
  • 00:48:32
    >> COBB: The DOJ also
  • 00:48:33
    demanded some form of civilian
  • 00:48:35
    oversight of the department,
  • 00:48:36
    which Ras had been pushing for,
  • 00:48:37
    too.
  • 00:48:39
    In March, the City Council voted
  • 00:48:42
    on his plan to create a panel of
  • 00:48:44
    civilians with the power to
  • 00:48:46
    investigate cops.
  • 00:48:48
    >> I am going to ask the long
  • 00:48:50
    line of citizens who wish to
  • 00:48:53
    speak in support of the
  • 00:48:56
    ordinance itself, would you
  • 00:48:59
    please raise your hands?
  • 00:49:03
    Is there anyone who is opposed?
  • 00:49:07
    >> For 50 years the people of
  • 00:49:09
    Newark have been calling for the
  • 00:49:11
    creation of a civilian review
  • 00:49:12
    board.
  • 00:49:14
    For 50 years those calls
  • 00:49:15
    have gone unanswered, until
  • 00:49:16
    tonight.
  • 00:49:18
    (cheers and applause)
  • 00:49:22
    >> Motion to close the public
  • 00:49:24
    hearing and adopt.
  • 00:49:25
    Councilor...
  • 00:49:27
    >> Yes.
  • 00:49:29
    >> Jenkins?
  • 00:49:30
    >> Yes.
  • 00:49:31
    >> MacAllen?
  • 00:49:32
    >> Yes.
  • 00:49:32
    >> Osborne?
  • 00:49:33
    >> Yes.
  • 00:49:34
    >> Quintana?
  • 00:49:35
    >> Yes.
  • 00:49:36
    >> Ramos?
  • 00:49:37
    >> Yes.
  • 00:49:38
    >> President Crump?
  • 00:49:39
    >> Unanimously, yes.
  • 00:49:42
    >> COBB: The hope is to
  • 00:49:43
    overcome an historic lack of
  • 00:49:44
    transparency, something I've
  • 00:49:46
    gotten a taste of myself.
  • 00:49:49
    When the department responded to
  • 00:49:51
    my request for records from the
  • 00:49:52
    nights we'd been with the gang
  • 00:49:54
    unit, they shed little light on
  • 00:49:55
    what we'd seen.
  • 00:49:57
    They gave me some arrest
  • 00:49:59
    reports, but nothing related to
  • 00:50:01
    the stops, the frisks, or even
  • 00:50:07
    the incident when the young man
  • 00:50:09
    was thrown to the ground.
  • 00:50:15
    First, they said they couldn't
  • 00:50:17
    find the reports.
  • 00:50:18
    Then they said they couldn't
  • 00:50:19
    give them to us because of
  • 00:50:20
    privacy concerns and ongoing
  • 00:50:22
    investigations.
  • 00:50:24
    >> Hello, Officer.
  • 00:50:26
    >> Hello, Officer.
  • 00:50:28
    >> What you want to be, eh?
  • 00:50:30
    >> What you want to be, eh?
  • 00:50:32
    >> In the NPD!
  • 00:50:34
    >> In the NPD!
  • 00:50:35
    >> Company, halt.
  • 00:50:38
    >> COBB: Reforming the police
  • 00:50:40
    in Newark is clearly going to
  • 00:50:41
    be a long haul.
  • 00:50:42
    And the problems go beyond
  • 00:50:43
    police alone.
  • 00:50:49
    But Ras has no choice but to
  • 00:50:51
    believe that change is possible.
  • 00:50:54
    >> This city is moving forward
  • 00:50:56
    with a whole different police
  • 00:50:58
    culture, and you are the
  • 00:50:59
    beginning of that.
  • 00:51:02
    >> COBB: A belief he wants
  • 00:51:03
    to instill in this graduating
  • 00:51:05
    class of 43 Newark rookies.
  • 00:51:08
    >> People begin to believe that
  • 00:51:09
    their community is safe simply
  • 00:51:11
    because you showed up.
  • 00:51:13
    Where you walk, justice walks
  • 00:51:15
    with you.
  • 00:51:16
    When you walk in a neighborhood,
  • 00:51:18
    goodness follows you wherever
  • 00:51:19
    you go.
  • 00:51:21
    And show up clean so we can get
  • 00:51:25
    rid of this cloud over our head
  • 00:51:27
    of wrongdoing.
  • 00:51:30
    You're the first class, my
  • 00:51:32
    class.
  • 00:51:33
    And those who come after
  • 00:51:34
    you are going to follow your
  • 00:51:36
    lead.
  • 00:51:37
    The question is, where are
  • 00:51:38
    you going to take them?
  • 00:51:40
    (applause)
  • 00:51:42
    >> Congratulations, ladies and
  • 00:51:43
    gentlemen.
  • 00:51:44
    Welcome to the Newark Police
  • 00:51:45
    Department.
  • 00:51:46
    (cheers and applause)
  • 00:52:17
    Captioned by
  • 00:52:18
    Media Access Group at WGBH
  • 00:52:19
    access.wgbh.org
  • 00:52:25
    >> For more on this and other
  • 00:52:27
    Frontline programs, visit our
  • 00:52:28
    website at pbs.org/frontline.
  • 00:52:40
    >> Frontline's "Policing the
  • 00:52:42
    Police" is available on DVD.
  • 00:52:44
    To order, visit shopPBS.org.
  • 00:52:47
    Or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
  • 00:52:50
    Frontline is also available
  • 00:52:52
    for download on iTunes.
Tags
  • Newark Police Department
  • police reform
  • community relations
  • Jelani Cobb
  • Justice Department
  • police misconduct
  • civilian oversight
  • Mayor Ras Baraka
  • accountability
  • race relations