News of the NYPD's activities becomes increasingy disturbing. The NYPD has become a rogue organization in my opinion. It has created for itself a super-secret spying agency conducting surveillance on local Muslim citizens, entrapping terrorism suspects. This caused the FBI to withdraw from the investigation due to what it considered improprieties. Now comes news of a controversial anti-jihadist training video being screened in a Brooklyn police station, and reports of its frequency being suppressed. For some reason the NYPD felt the need to claim that it showed the film only 'a couple of times' but now it has been revealed it was shown over a period of three months to over a thousand police officers.
The NYPD showed a controversial film about Islam to more officers than it originally indicated, according to police documents obtained by NYU's Brennan Center for Justice.
The center said the film, called "The Third Jihad," is "virulently anti-Muslim" because it argues that mainstream Muslim groups seek to impose Shariah law on the United States.
"The Third Jihad" shows TV images of Hezbollah rocket attacks, children being held hostage by Muslim militants and a woman it says was arrested in Iran for wearing immodest clothing. It shows images it says were taken from Islamic videos and websites, including a doctored picture of an Islamic flag flying over the White House.
"Somebody exercised some terrible judgment," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, speaking in Albany. "I don't know who and we'll find out."
At last the mayor speaks! Terrible judgment? Are you kidding me? What is it going to take in order to get some accountability and adherence to law and propriety in this department? We'll find out? I'm sure whoever is responsible is quaking in their boots for fear of departmental reprisal.
It required a 'complaint' on someone's part to stop the airing of this video. Here's Paul Browne, the NYPD's version of Baghdad Bob speaking on the subject:
The video was not authorized by the NYPD or was it used in training sessions and or shown at the police academy, according to Paul Browne, deputy commissioner for the NYPD. But the film was looped on a TV screen at a Brooklyn location. As soon as someone complained about it, he said, the film was removed, and the sergeant who let the video play has been since been reprimanded.
A severe 'reprimand' has been issued to the person exercising 'terrible judgment'. So all appropriate steps have apparently been taken.
The film has been described as characterizing "ordinary Muslims in a highly offensive manner" and that it "seeks to incite unwarranted fears of ordinary Muslims and their motives."
According to the police documents, portions of which were blacked out, the film was screened over a period of three months, and was not authorized for use in training.
Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program, said the revelations point to the need for stronger oversight of the NYPD. Currently, the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board processes complaints against the NYPD, but it lacks the authority to punish police officers accused of misconduct and can only make disciplinary recommendations to Kelly.
"If you look at its counterpart in the federal government, which is the FBI, the FBI operates under the umbrella of the Justice Department," Goitein said. "It’s overseen by Congressional committees. And there’s an Inspector General to keep an eye on its activities. The NYPD has none of that."
The NYPD has documents on file which it feels the need to black out, as if it is the CIA or the FBI. The need for stronger oversight? Are you kidding me? How about disbanding these activities altogether and getting back to police work and protecting the citizenry with 'courtesy, professionalism, and respect'?
A clip from the video can be seen here.