Posted on April 21, 2015

Proposed Federal Rules for NYPD Training Include Cop 101 Advice Like ‘Don’t Be Racist’

Stephen Rex Brown, NY Daily News, April 21, 2015

NYPD recruits are about to get a crash course in the ABCs of policing.

The federal monitor overseeing reforms to the NYPD wants the current class of Police Academy recruits to be taught groundbreaking new concepts like: Don’t be racist, don’t mock others, don’t tell sexist jokes and don’t hassle people for no reason.

The monitor, Peter Zimroth, asked Manhattan Federal Judge Analisa Torres on Monday to approve the stack of new training materials that will be presented to the class of cadets graduating in June.

He included in filings more than 75 PowerPoint slides that delve into the nitty-gritty of police work, detail constitutional stop-and-frisk practices–and give remedial directions that, it is hoped, the officers already know.

“Do not imitate the speech patterns of others: This will appear disingenuous, artificial and possibly racist,” reads another.

“Avoid expressing stereotypical assumptions. ‘He’s Irish but I’ve never seen him drunk,’ ” reads another.

The proposed instructional material is the result of Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin’s 2013 ruling declaring the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices unconstitutional.

Zimroth said the material was developed in collaboration with the NYPD and City Hall, and that the new instructions were quickly prepared for the recruits who started classes at the Police Academy in January.

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The slides emphasize that cops should not have an inherently confrontational relationship with average citizens.

“Police officers tend to forget that most members of the community are good, law-abiding people who appreciate their presence and the positive influence police have on children and young people,” one slide reads.