Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot | |
---|---|
Date | September 16, 1992 |
Location | |
Caused by | Reaction to proposed civilian oversight of police and reaction to Mayor David Dinkins' view of police |
Goals | Preventing Mayor David Dinkins and New York City Council from implementing police reform |
Methods | Rioting, protests, assault |
Lead figures | |
Phil Caruso, Rudy Giuliani | |
Casualties | |
Charged | 2 |
The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot, also known as the City Hall Riot, was a rally organized and sponsored by the
Mayor Dinkins, who was not present at City Hall at the time, denounced the rally as "bordering on hooliganism" and accused PBA president Phil Caruso of inciting violence. Dinkins also accused
Background
Police oversight
Citizen-activists in New York City had called for a civilian review board to exercise police oversight since the 1940s. Support for these measures grew following incidents of
In 1992, Mayor
Dinkins' relation with NYPD
While crime significantly decreased in New York City after 1990, the city was still perceived as dangerous, and tensions between the Mayor and the police increased, particularly following the 1991
Events
Initial rally
The rally was organized and sponsored by the New York City PBA. The rally was called to protest Mayor Dinkins' proposal to create the citizen-led review board for police misconduct, as well as his handling of riots against the police in Washington Heights the previous summer, and his refusal to provide the NYPD with semi-automatic weapons.[6] The PBA obtained a permit for a protest confined to Murray Street, a road perpendicular to City Hall that was notable lined with Irish pubs.[9] An estimated 10,000 officers attended the rally, most of whom were bused in from around the city by the PBA.
Protestors began marching around City Hall Park at 10:00 a.m. EST, gathering around speeches from PBA President Phil Caruso, previous Mayoral candidate Rudy Giuliani, and NYPD officer Michael O'Keefe, who had recently cleared by a grand jury for his involvement in the shooting death of Jose "Kiko" Garcia that spurred the July riots in Washington Heights.[6] In a speech delivered via microphone, Giuliani said "The reason the morale of the police department of the City of New York is so low is one reason and one reason alone: David Dinkins!"[9]
Attendees alternated chants of "No justice! No police!" and "The Mayor's on Crack!", and donned t-shirts and signs with slogans like "Dear Mayor, have you hugged a drug dealer today," and "Dinkins, We Know Your True Color -- Yellow Bellied."[6] Some signs featured cartoon images depicting Dinkins with racial caricatures such as large lips and nose and an Afro, with several calling Dinkins a "washroom attendant."[9]
Escalation
The rally was originally contained to City Hall Park, but quickly started spilling out past the sawhorse barricades onto Broadway and Park Row. A crowd of 6,000 attendees remained engaged in a peaceful rally on Murray Street, however, by 10:50 a.m. EST a group of around 4,000 attendees—many of which had been drinking at the bars along Murray Street during the speeches—broke out in chants of "Take the hall! Take the hall!" before storming the barriers and into the parking lot in front of City Hall. Some officers jumped on and damaged parked cars.[6] Upon the deluge of rioters descending on City Hall, both Deputy Mayor Fritz Alexander and Acting Police Commissioner Ray Kelly summoned on-duty police officers to City Hall for crowd control.[9]
With the on-duty police called to City Hall, several thousand protesting officers marched down to the Brooklyn Bridge around 11:40 a.m. EST, meeting no resistance from the on-duty police. Ten minutes later, around 2,000 protestors blocked traffic on the bridge in both directions until about 12:20 p.m. EST, when the crowd began to dissipate. By 12:30 p.m. EST, a handful of senior police commanders showed up to the bridge to provide crowd control, and traffic was reopened by 12:40 p.m. EST.[6]
By the time protesting officers reached the bridge, the riots turned violent. Several
Aftermath
Arrests and inquiries
No arrests occurred at the scene of the riots. The riots spawned two inquiries; one was led by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and another by Acting Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. A caucus of African-American NYPD officers, including eventual Mayor Eric Adams, called for a special prosecutor, arguing that the DA's investigation would be tainted by police influence; Mayor Dinkins pushed back on calling for a special prosecutor.[9]
Of the estimated 10,000 officers involved in the protest and subsequent riot, 87 officers were later identified from witness accounts and visual images, and only 42 officers faced disciplinary hearings for possible misconduct charges (but not criminal charges). Two of those officers were suspended; one on-duty officer charged with opening the barricades to protesters and uttering racial slurs, and one off-duty officer who had blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. Another 26 off-duty cops identified as blocking bridge traffic faced disciplinary proceedings. Among the 42 officers facing discipline were 13 on-duty officers assigned to control the crowd and a helicopter pilot who blared his chopper's horn in support of the protesters.[9] In addition, two officers who assaulted a man on the subway following the riot were charged with felony assault, leading to one conviction on a misdemeanor charge that led to the officer's dismissal.[1]
Reactions
Following the riot, Mayor Dinkins condemned the participating officers, saying "If some officers in full view of a camera and public and their superiors or officers would use racial slurs, yelling 'n-----s,' and some of the signs they were carrying ... I fear how they would behave when they are out in the streets."[9] Dinkins also blamed Giuliani for his involvement, who he claimed egged on the crowd for opportunistic purposes, saying "he's seizing upon a fragile circumstance in our city for his own political gain."[6] Acting Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that the riots and lack of arrests following it, "raised serious questions about the department's willingness and ability to police itself."[1]
Rudy Giuliani pushed back against Dinkins' accusation, saying that his comments were "desperate and offensive," and claimed that he had urged the rioters to move away from City Hall.[6] Giuliani sympathized with the rioters and blamed Dinkins for the unrest, saying "one of the reasons those police officers might have lost control is that we have a mayor who invites riots."[9]
PBA President Phil Caruso conceded that the protest "got out of hand", and blamed the riots and violence on both Mayor Dinkins and City Councilman
CCRB
Despite objections from the PBA and NYPD, the
See also
- New York City Police Riot of 1857
- History of the New York City Police Department
- List of incidents of civil unrest in New York City
References
- ^ a b c d e "Shielded from Justice: New York: Civilian Complaint Review Board". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- ^ "Police Unions Haven't Only Battled Bill de Blasio's City Hall". Observer. 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- ^ Oliver, Pamela (18 July 2020). "When the NYPD Rioted – Race, Politics, Justice". Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- ^ Donovan, Kenneth (July 28, 2020). "Police and Protest: 1992 and Today". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Nahmias, Laura (October 4, 2021). "White Riot In 1992, thousands of furious, drunken cops descended on City Hall — and changed New York history". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ Finder, Alan (September 11, 1992). "The Washington Heights Case; In Washington Heights, Dinkins Defends Actions After Shooting". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2022.