A shocking 72 percent of all resisting arrest charges are brought by only 15 percent of the NYPD. Resisting arrest is a charge that is often used to cover the use of excessive force by police. Why else would Darvell Elliot have wound up in a hospital bed after he had been handcuffed by Officer Donald Sadowy outside of Elliot's Brownsville home? In a case of mistaken identity (all black men look the same to some police officers) the police stopped him because a black man had stolen an iPod and cellphone in the area. He claims that once they handcuffed him, they tripped him and beat him. The
picture his lawyer provided WNYC appears to back up his complaint.
The NYPD has used computer software for years to track crime in its jurisdiction. But apparently it hasn't taken advantage of data to deal with abusive cops. According to WNYC, one officer, Donald Sadowy, has been sued for excessive force 10 times in just over two years.
Historically, the department has done more to crack down on corrupt cops than abusive ones, said Robert Kane, director of the criminology and justice studies program at Drexel University, who spent several years studying officer misconduct in the NYPD.
He says cops like Sadowy are on the street because the NYPD wants them there.
“I would only expect that officer to be taken off the street if the organization didn’t value the aggressive behavior in which that officer typically engages,” Kane said.
Why do 60 percent of police officers never need to make the charge? Could it be that the NYPD relies on shock troop officers to provide the threat that makes most citizens compliant? If not, why does the NYPD allow them to remain on the street?
As Darvell Elliot put it:
“He thinks we’re the danger. But you’re the danger. You’re supposed to protect and serve us,” Elliott said a year later. “We’re not supposed to be scared of you. We’re supposed to be safe around you.”