Bias-Crimes Cop Accuses Suffolk County Executive of Interference

[proud2BlibKansan]

Over the last several years, Suffolk County, N.Y., has been a hotbed of anti-Latino hate, a place that became infamous for the brutal murder of an Ecuadorian immigrant by a gang of white teens who were out for a night of “beaner hopping.”

County Executive Steve Levy has taken his share of criticism for not only failing to protect the county’s Latino community but for fanning the flames of bigotry. An investigation by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2009 documented widespread violence against Latinos in the county and cited the indifference of local authorities. The U.S. Department of Justice soon thereafter launched an investigation into discriminatory policing in the county.

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In a Newsday column this past Sunday, Detective Sgt. Robert Reecks, told the paper that Levy “whitewashed bias crimes and directly inhibited the work of the Suffolk County Hate Crimes Unit.” Reecks’ 13-year tenure heading the unit ended abruptly two weeks ago; he is now its deputy commander.

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An SPLC investigator interviewed Latino immigrants in Suffolk over the course of four months. What she found was disturbing. Latinos, both documented and undocumented, were regularly harassed, taunted and pelted with objects hurled from cars. They were frequently run off the road while riding bicycles, and many reported being beaten with baseball bats and other objects. Others had been shot with BB guns or pepper-sprayed. Most would not walk alone after dark, and parents often refused to let their children play outside. A few had been the targets of arson attacks and worse.

more . . . http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/01/25/bias-crimes-cop-accuses-suffolk-county-executive-of-interference/

[TheWraith]

1. Levy is well known in NYS politics as a bigot.

Unfortunately, some people still like him.

[virgogal]

2. Such ugliness in such a lovely place. Sad.