Showing posts with label frivolous prosecution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frivolous prosecution. Show all posts

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Joseph Hayden Faces 7 Years

From The Amsterdam News :

The judge has set another date in the criminal case against 71-year-old community activist Joseph “Jazz” Hayden. Last week, a large group of supporters packed the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse demanding that District Attorney Cyrus Vance drop the charges against Hayden.

Hayden faces two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, stemming from a December 2011 incident when police found a pocketknife and a miniature replica baseball bat after searching his car.

Hayden alleges that the charges against him are a result of his filming police activities in the Harlem community. “I can unequivocally state that this stop and arrest were in retaliation for my work as a citizen reporter aggressively covering police-community relationships in the Harlem community,” said Hayden.

For the past four years, Hayden has implemented “Copwatch,” a program in which he and his team patrol the Harlem area and videotape police as they stop and frisk people. ...

Read more : Harlem activist could face up to seven years in prison

Watch as how Joseph "Jazz" Hayden has documented the questionable NYPD use of "stop and frisk" :