In this video you see one cop, officer Zachary Andrew Crossen from the Boston police department harassing a man that is just walking by on the sidewalk.
It so happens to be that the man is black, and the cop is white. This is being treated by the media as a case of “walking while black.” And I may very well agree with that, but I think this encounter exemplifies something that is greater than that. This shows why there’s an ever increasing divide between the citizens and law enforcement units.
This clearly shows a cop that is a bully.
You can see it on his body language from the get go, his tone, and on his attitude towards the end. You have a citizen here that is aware of the constant police misconduct and decides to fire up his camera to record the interaction prior to the start of said interaction.
I find it very telling that he sensed an encounter was going to happen and had the wherewithal to record the police. As you should always do.
This might have been motivated by racism, but this is just a sign of a greater problem. The idea by police that we owe them an explanation for our existence. This needs to stop.
The cop is a liar and filled with disdain for the public. As I was researching this story, I ran into this:
Officer Crossen is listed as badge 1679 Source: Boston Police Department Active Badges (as of July, 2016)
Note: In the video, gives badge number “1606”, which is a well-known common police fake number used in a deliberate attempt to deceive. Previously, officers used the number “1630” which is the year displayed on their badge that signifies the formation of the Boston Day Watch.
Credit to Blackstonian for shining light on this! That is despicable. And it makes me wonder how many other police departments have something like this where they give you fake info as a matter of culture and or policy?
Since the Incident
It appears that there is some disciplinary action going on in this case. We found the following:
BPD Officer Crossen Currently In Federal Court For Civil Rights via Blackstonian.
(update Sun May 4 17:42). I am still following this story and trying to bring it current.
Was Zachary Crossen targeting this man because of racism? I’m not sure about that, in another video they show a seemingly much younger Crossen in uniform interacting with citizens in an community building program. Based on this, I do have to wonder about Zachary’s motives.
As with any issue worth discussing, things seem to be a lot more complex than they first appear to be. Do you agree or disagree?
People Involved:
Additional Reading:
Five things you didn’t know about the Boston Police Department.
https://instigativejournalist.com/on-the-news/video-of-boston-police-stop-of-black-pedestrian-draws-ire-from-activists/
https://instigativejournalist.com/for-the-archives/mistaken-identity-aclu-massachusetts-zachary-crossen/
Police officials are reviewing a civilian-recorded interaction involving a police officer who appeared to needle a resident he stopped on the street with disparaging questions about whether he worked and whether the phone he had was his — after sarcastically referring to him as a “contributor.”
The 25-year-old from Roxbury who shot the video and posted it to Facebook earlier this week said he felt the cop was sizing him up as a drug dealer.
source: boston herald:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2018/02/boston_police_officer_confrontation_gets_brass_review
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he suspects “there’s more to this story” when asked yesterday whether a Boston police gang unit officer should be disciplined for verbally sparring with a civilian rolling video on him and calling him a “pig.”
“I think there’s more to this story than you see in the video. And quite honestly, the young man that he’s talking to responded in a negative way, as well,” Walsh said in response to the story in yesterday’s Herald.
source: boston herald:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2018/02/walsh_roxbury_man_who_taped_cop_responded_in_a_negative_way
This is a developing story. We’ll be adding more details and info as we find it. If you have tips or additional info, please contact us or drop it in the comments.
