“Arrested while grieving.”
I’m in NY for the weekend. I’m seeing the kids and Lucy, my grandchild. And we’re celebrating my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s 25th wedding anniversary.
But the news in New York is not all celebratory. Bob Herbert’s column in today’s NY Times is a disturbing story reminiscent of the things you might have read during the Rudy Giuliani days. A group of high school kids on their way to a funeral of a friend, students from Bushwick Community High School, were literally assaulted by members of the NYPD. Evidence of their gang affiliation? They were wearing shirts that said, “RIP.” As Herbert titled his column, they were “arrested while grieving.”
Thirty-three people were arrested, 20 men for unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct, seven women got disorderly conduct summonses, and six juveniles were released on their own recognizance.
Herbert’s column, which requires registration to access on the NY Times web page, reports that the original story that the police were responding to a gang provocation was not supported by any civilian witnesses and was contradicted by the testimony of the kids themselves.
They were kids of color in NY going to the funeral of a friend.
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