the other assignment

I read the article titled “Why Harlem Drug Cops Don’t Discuss Race.”

1.) I learned from this article that racial profiling happens even to cops. The story said that dark-skinned undercover officers who are dressed in street clothes fear that they may be accidentally shot by a white officer while on the job. That is exactly what happened to black undercover officer Patrick Dorismond. He was on a buy-and-bust when a white undercover officer went in cold and ended up shooting Dorismond. Officers carry guns all of the time, even when they are not on-duty. Black officers who are off-duty could be in danger when they carry a gun.

2.) In Harlem all cops regardless of race when faced with a group of brown-skinned Dominican men assume they are drug dealers. Dark-skinned cops do not stoop to racial profiling though; they think this way because of statistics. Another memorable detail is that these narcotics officers use race to their advantage. Narcotics officers are picked (sort of like a draft) based on their appearance. A white undercover cop on the streets of Harlem would be obvious, so undercover cops are usually black, Spanish or Dominican. This means that race enters the force on day one.

3.) A story that the author mentioned throughout the article was the Diallo case of 1998. Diallo, a black man, was standing in front of his Bronx building when he was shot by four panicking white police officers. The officers went to trial and were cleared on every count. This case brought a lot of emotion to every Harlem narcotics officer, but no one talked about it. The officers were clearly divided, but they did not discuss the trial and get into issues of race because ultimately they need to get along.

4.) I think the reporter did a very good job at shedding some insights on what black narcotics officers go through working on the streets of Harlem. Often times black officers experience racial profiling. A black undercover officer “Tyrone” has to commute from Brooklyn to Harlem every day. He gets pulled over on average once a week while driving home. Other officers who spend time out on their porches enjoying a beer at times have been approached by a white man who asks, “Who’s working?”