Hispanic NYPD Groups Push for First Hispanic Police Commissioner: Could This Change Impact Racial Profiling and Stop and Frisk?
Three Hispanic New York Police Department groups hope to make history in 2014 by electing the NYPD's first Hispanic Commissioner to replace Raymond Kelly.
The Hispanic Society, the National Latino Officers Association and the New York Dominican Officers Organization are backing Cuban-born, First Deputy Commissioner Rafael Pineiro, who they think would be perfect for the job, according to the New York Daily News.
"In this day and age, with stop, question and frisk, issues of profiling, I think having a Hispanic who understands what's going on in the community would actually benefit the citizens of this city," said Dennis Gonzales, president of the NYPD's Hispanic Society.
An analysis by the NYCLU revealed that innocent New Yorkers have been subjected to police stops and street interrogations more than 4 million times since 2002, and that black and Latino communities continue to be the overwhelming target of these tactics. Nearly nine out of 10 stopped-and-frisked New Yorkers have been completely innocent, according to the NYPD's own reports:
In 2012, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 532,911 times
473,644 were totally innocent (89 percent).
284,229 were black (55 percent).
165,140 were Latino (32 percent).
50,366 were white (10 percent).
Gonzales raises an important question; could a Hispanic Police Commissioner change these statistics -- and who is the man behind this potential change?
Pineiro is a 40-year veteran of the NYPD who has served as the Patrol Bronx borough commander and commanding officer of the 41st Precinct. Piniero has worked in Kelly's cabinet in various roles and in 2002 he became the chief of personnel -- giving him the coveted title of the "most tenured Chief of Personnel in Department history."
It's also important to note that Pineiro also instituted a variety of other important initiatives, such as the Foreign Language Program; the Retiree Mobilization Program; and the Automated External Defibrillator Program. He also established the Healthnet and the Genealogy Preservation Projects.
"We don't recommend First Deputy Commissioner Pineiro simply because he's Latino," said Gonzales. "We recommended him because he has the credentials and the qualifications to lead the finest police department in the country."
Who does Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio back?
The front-runner in the race has already floated two possible picks for the coveted job: former Police Commissioner William Bratton and current NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks, the New York Daily News adds.
And GOP mayoral candidate Joe Lhota?
While Lhota has declared his allegiance to Kelly, Gonzales said he's met with the Republican to push Pineiro.
The number of Latinos in the NYPD has dramatically increased, according to in an earlier report by El Diario La Prensa, a Spanish-language daily.
Just over a quarter of New York City's 34,500-strong police force is Latino today, the Spanish-language daily adds, pointing out a major boost from 1993, when only 14 percent of the city's cops were Hispanic.
In August, the Huffington Post spoke with Reymundo Mundo, who rose to the rank of captain, "This is something very meaningful for me and my family," he said. "I'd like to be an example so that other Hispanics keep following their dreams and know that they can reach high positions."
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