Petition: Bloomberg, Fire NYPD Commissioner Kelly & Deputy Commissioner Browne: Hold the NYPD Accountable for Lying to Us! | Change.org
We call for the resignation of Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne from the NYPD, for their involvement in producing and showing an anti-Muslim propaganda film, “The Third Jihad.” We demand that the City Council institute an oversight mechanism for the police department. We further call on the NYPD to retrain the officers who watched “The Third Jihad” during police training.
Initially, the NYPD denied that it screened “The Third Jihad” but later said it was shown a few times to a handful of officers. However, police documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Law request now reveal that the film was shown on a continuous loop for 3 months to nearly 1500 officers. Only after the film’s producer identified for the New York Times the date on which Kelly was interviewed, did Kelly and Browne admit to participation in the film.
Taken in context of the Associated Press’s reporting about the NYPD’s extensive surveillance programs—which literally map Muslim communities, and all aspects of Muslim life in New York City—it is now clear that the NYPD’s dealings with New York’s diverse Muslim communities are based on bigotry and blanket suspicion.
Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Kelly and Deputy Commissioner Browne lied to you, the media and the people of New York and now it’s time to hold them accountable. Uphold the integrity of the NYPD. Meet our demands!
I have no expectation the city will meet these demands. But I signed anyway and I think everyone else should too. What the city has done is just too unforgivable.
