White House, NY lawmaker back NYPD after report undercover police eavesdropped on Muslims

[rug]

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism adviser and the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee are offering support for the New York Police Department after an Associated Press investigation revealed a secret police unit that monitored daily life inside Muslim communities.

Muslim civil liberties groups and a Brooklyn congresswoman have called on the Justice Department to investigate the NYPD for its Demographics Unit, which maintained a list of 28 countries that, along with “American Black Muslim,” were considered “ancestries of interest.” Nearly all were Muslim countries.

Undercover police officers known as “rakers” would then eavesdrop inside Muslim businesses and write daily reports as they kept an eye on mosques, religious schools and social clubs.

The White House had no comment on whether the Demographics Unit was at odds with its recent policy paper, which said authorities should build trusting relationships with Muslim communities and urged authorities not to single out or stigmatize particular ethnic or religious communities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts-law/white-house-ny-lawmaker-back-nypd-after-report-undercover-police-eavesdropped-on-muslims/2011/09/01/gIQA009suJ_story.html?wprss=rss_national

[Fumesucker]

1. Recced up to zero or some negative number.. n/t

[Historic NY]

2. Its all part of the counter terrorism task force....which has been successful since 911

I'd hate to think what would have happened w/o it. It boils down to the old trust but verify rule. Sorry NY is a target and has been a target since the 90's.

http://www.nypdintelligence.com/ its a pretty sophisticated operation.

[Angry Dragon]

3. Your kind is next .............

[Supply Side Jesus]

4. I wonder how DUers would react when they learn that cops also eavesdrop

on anti government/militia nutjobs?

prolly not the same outrage.

and yes, they do...

[rug]

8. It's the continuation of domestic government spying that precedes the Palmer raids.

[madrchsod]

5. chicago`s "red squad"

http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1049.html

other cities had similar "red squads" since the early 1900`s.

[Historic NY]

6. NYPD Joseph Petrosino & the black hand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Petrosino

[rug]

7. Handschu settlement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handschu_agreement

COINTELPRO

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO