Chief Douglas Zeigler

African American

DISRESPECTED BY TWO

WHITE NYPD OFFICERS

May 2, 2008

 

 

Chief Douglas Zeigler

African American

Head of The NYPD's Community Affairs

Disrepected By Two White NYPD Officers

While Chief Zeigler Sat In His Department SUV On A Queens Street May 2, 2008

With NYPD Three Star Shield ID On Neck

 

"He dealt with the chief in a discourteous manner, which is unacceptable," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

"The New York Daily News reports the NYPD Officer was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modfied duty Friday"

According to the Rev. Al Sharpton, "You can't make this stuff up!" he said. "The problem isn't that they didn't recognize him. It is that they don't recognize our rights!"

According to the NY Daily News, "In his briefing to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Zeigler said the two cops, who are white, had no legitimate reason to approach his SUV, ranking sources said.

After they ordered him to get out, one officer did not believe the NYPD identification Zeigler gave him.

The cops gave a different account:

When one officer spotted Zeigler's service weapon through the rolled-down window, he yelled "Gun!" according to sources who have spoken with the officers.

Both cops raised their weapons and ordered the driver out of the car, sources said.

Instead of saying he was an armed member of the NYPD, Zeigler shouted, "Don't you know who I am?" the sources said.

When one cop reached over to check the identification badge around Zeigler's neck, the chief pushed him away, sources said.

Only then did Zeigler tell the two officers his name and rank, those sources said.

Zeigler, in his discussions with Kelly, said the officers never yelled "Gun!" sources said.

One cop got into a heated argument with the chief even after seeing the ID, sources said.

That cop was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modified duty last night, sources said. The status of the second officer was unclear.

The incident occurred as the NYPD is under fire for record numbers of pedestrians being stopped and frisked, the majority of them black or Hispanic. Some 145,098 people were stopped by the NYPD in the first quarter of this year.

Zeigler has headed the Community Affairs Bureau since January 2006. His wife, Neldra Zeigler, is NYPD deputy commissioner for equal employment opportunity."

 

Senator Eric Adams, Attorney Norman Siegel., 100 Blacks and Law Enforcement, National Latino Officers of America, Grand Council of Guardians, and the National Black Police Association. Have called on Commissioner Kelly for swift punishment of the two undercover police officers whos actions was disrespectful towards Three –Star NYPD Chief Douglas Zieglar.

Chief Zieglar in his briefing to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, said that the two cops, who are white, had no legitimate reason to approach his SUV with guns drawn. Even after he gave them his NYPD ID the two didn’t believe that he was who he said he was.

The Sean Bell verdict has given Law Enforcement a legal alibi that a Black man can be unarmed, shot , killed, and still be a legal threat just by the color of his skin. As Black Law Enforcement Professionals we now have to be extra cautious when we react to situations when we are off duty or as plain clothes officials less we fall into the same situation as out brother Detective Ridley or Sean Bell. It’s unfortunate that the only time we are truly recognized as law enforcement is when we don the blue uniform. Until perceptions of Black males are changed in the institutional thinking of policing, the Back Law Enforcement community and the Black community at large in Westchester will remain at a disadvantage.

Posted by Westchester BLACK WATCH at 8:12 PM

 

Let's Talk Shop

by Ralph E. Smith- Guardian Chronicle

There is no reason why Three Star NYPD Chief Douglas Zeigler should have been disrespected in any form by the the two white NYPD Patrol Officers.  I know who Chief Zeigler is and I don't work for the NYPD.  I often salute Chief Zeigler when I see him in the street or at a community event because I have a great deal of respect for for him.

If cops think it's ok to disrespect a black chief then they are crazy and serious action needs to be taken by the NYPD. It's really not just about color, it's about simple respect.  Respect for  Black NYPD Staff and the Black Community.

If the two white cops didn't respect or know they were talking to a NYPD Police Chief, then just think what they would say to the regular person on the street?

If they made a mistake in ID in a respectful manner, then to be honest, this would not be  a story, but the level of disrespect for people of color is a serious problem not just in New York, but through out America.