The Abner Louima Case, 10 Years Later

pitu · August 2007

I was surprised that it's been ten years since the awful police incident with Abner Louima brutalized. It's a case worth remembering.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/the-abner-louima-case-10-years-later/

Ten years ago today, a 30-year-old Haitian immigrant named Abner Louima was arrested and sodomized with a broomstick inside a restroom in the 70th Precinct station house in Brooklyn. The case became a national symbol of police brutality and fed perceptions that New York City police officers were harassing or abusing young black men as part a citywide crackdown on crime.

The case also marked the beginning of the unraveling of Mayor Rudolph W. Giulianiâ€™s relationship with the black community in New York. That relationship would deteriorate even further, after the police shot two unarmed black men, Amadou Diallo in February 1999 and Patrick Dorismond in 2000.

One officer, Justin A. Volpe, admitted in court in May 1999 that he had rammed a broken broomstick into Mr. Louimaâ€™s rectum and then thrust it in his face. He said he had mistakenly believed that Mr. Louima had punched him in the head during a street brawl outside a nightclub in Flatbush, but he acknowledged that he had also intended to humiliate the handcuffed immigrant. He left the force and was later sentenced to 30 years in prison. The commanders of the 70th Precinct were replaced within days of the assault. As the legal case wore on, Charles Schwarz, a former police officer, was sentenced in federal court in 2002 to five years in prison for perjury stemming from the torture case. A jury found that Mr. Schwarz had lied when he testified that he had not taken Mr. Louima to the station house bathroom where the assault took place.
the entire news item linked here

eberri · August 2007

And Giuliani thinks he can run for president and unify the country? But then again Bush "got elected" twice...

Also, part of the reason why some people are fearful of police officers. Cops can do anything because of the authority they have and when they protect each other behind their "code of silence" they answer to no one in their breech of ethics (especially if you're a black male). How many things happen that no one ever finds out about?

Kinda like the "no sniching" code of the hood, same mentality...

Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell. When does it end? Its also not just a coincidence that they are all black men....

king without a crown · August 2007

The Abner Louima case deals with one sick cop who intentionally comitted a crime against someone. The other 2 instances however you want to look at it, were of Police acting in good faith and made an unfortunate mistake. Probably the reason that all these individuals are Black. might be due to the fact that young black males are comitting the majority of the violent crimes in NYC and therefore have a proportionate amount of Police interactions.

eberri · August 2007

That one sick cop had to have a number of other cops if not enabling, certainly aware of what was going on. He hardly acted alone.

How to you shoot someone "in good faith" by mistake using 41 rounds?

The fact that you see these incidents as "unfortunate mistakes" imo makes your judgment questionable...

I guess I should keep that in mind when my dad, brother and family members (all college educated, professional law abiding black men) are harassed by the cops (which has happened for no good reason). The stats show they commit more crime so its the burden they have to bear in this society. If they are brutalized by the cops, it was just a mistake....

Way to justify racial profiling.....

king without a crown · August 2007

These incidents are far and few between. How about the outrage at the countless black on black crimes that occurs in the city on a daily basis. Maybe cause that doesnt make the news.

eptp · August 2007

KWAC
You can work the "blacks vs. nypd and law abiding citizens" bit till you are blue in the face, it just looks more and more naive, more and more like a knee-jerk reaction, and its hard not to wonder: what are your core beliefs on race relations? Do you share the same humanistic concern for all groups of people on earth. Do you ever try to empathize with the people who you characterize as "bad guys?"

Clearly you know the letter of the law. Do you account for at least the possibility of corruption in the institutions charged with the duty of putting law into practice when you put forth these arguments? You know a lot of facts, you know your neighborhood, but do you really know for sure that the instruments of the legal system actually follow the rules and principles that you painstakingly repeat in your posts.

You seem to be placing an awful lot of the blame on the news media, and on the people whom you describe as "black." To what extent are you responsible for the state of your community? Is your role merely that of a critical observer?

king without a crown · August 2007

I have only brought facts to the table, unfortunately many people are in denial on this board. My original post was in response to a comparison of 3 separate Police involved incidents, 1 of which started this topic, but just like 90% of the topics on this board, they eventually turn into a Race Baiting thread. As for corruption, i'm sure it exists in the NYPD along with other City agencies. Corruption exists in every industry. My post was not intended to place blame on anyone one group of people. The fact of the matter is that these incidents were 3 of the millions of interactions that the Police have with the community on any given day.

eptp · August 2007

people find these instances of brutality compelling for a reason, not just to defy their statistical significance, which, due to under-reporting, is not really a figure we should bat around.

These brutal tragedies might be compelling because they illustrate the imbalance of power that exists between cultural groups in the city. That seems to be why others are up in arms about something you regard is insignificant (or do you?)

You can deny the relevance of the facts, but how can you deny the imbalance of power. In the urban environment, the balance of power can invert and this gives rise to the type of violence where police are either victims, or not directly involved.

The balance of power is in contest, but when the imbalances grow too great, violence breaks out. If we can find a way to reduce these discrepancies of power that result in violence, we can build a more stable future.

When we take two sides of a debate, the argument travels back and forth and both sides develop arguments that are less compatible, as if one was right and the other was wrong.

But an argument, if it builds this kind of debate, can never be really right. It must deny the factual significance of the other argument in order to stand on its own as a relevant statement.

There are discussions that can build bridges of cooperation between people. When we express our opinion, we have to take into consideration the effect it will have on the tone of a discussion. If it drives it into debate, the expression will build conflict, stratify, and divide.

We must develop a discourse that can encompass the views of others, and involve them in fruitful discussion. I appreciate your reply very much.

EPTM

king without a crown · August 2007

Well we agree on the something atleast. That is the agreeing to disagree part.

ilikesausage · August 2007

Maybe I'm niave, but I truly believe nobody, and I mean nobody, felt what happened to Louima was justified in any way. Honestly, if Louima turned around and shot him (Volpe), I wouldn't have said a word.

Diallio is a horrible tragedy of a) poor visiblity and b) trigger happy cowards.

Dusmond I really don't know too much about.

The Abner Louima Case, 10 Years Later

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