Rooftop rights and wrongs

Police officers have been patrolling apartment rooftops in Crown Heights and harassing residents who dine and drink on these proletarian patios, according to reports from local blogs.

But the way neighborhood residents have responded to this issue has so far failed to elicit a response from the police or a change in policy; moreover it reveals a poor understanding of police procedure and community activism.

Nick Juravich, author of "I Love Franklin Avenue" posted one such complaint from a reader:

Two cops approached my roommate and me while we were eating dinner on our roof and gave us the option of choosing what fine we wanted, which was a $500 ticket for trespassing on our own roof or an open container ticket for drinking a glass of wine with our meal.

The complaints seem, on their face, legitimate: in many cases the residents have landlord permission to access the roofs, which means they shouldn't be cited for trespassing. And the rooftops constitute private property, so those enjoying their wine beneath the stars should not be cited for having an open container. 

The individual who wrote in to Mr. Juravich seems to have been unjustly harassed. He or she goes on to make this suggestion to Mr. Juravich: "I was wondering if you'd be interested in composing some sort of conversation on the blog in regards to the issue."

I suspect this means something like "host a forum." That's a nice idea, but for two things: (1) anonymous Internet fora do not have a record of changing institutional policy, and (2) very real fora exist for such a community discussion in the forms of organizations like the Crow Hill Community Association, the Community Board 8 Public Safety Committee, and the 77th Police Precinct Community Council Meeting. 

The best thing about bringing a complaint to such bodies is that you can usually pose it to the commanding officer of the 77th Police Precinct himself, Deputy Inspector Elvio Capocci. He'll listen to you, and respond. At one such meeting, I saw a young woman stand up and address Mr. Capocci about being harassed on her rooftop. But she wasn't prepared.

Mr. Capocci asked her two questions: if she could tell him the date of the incident and identify the officers who she claims harassed her. She could not. Mr. Capocci shrugged and said he would try to follow up but he needed that information to figure out exactly why there were officers on her roof, and why they behaved the way they did. It wasn't a satisfying answer, but had the finality of ink stamped on paper. The woman sat down.

This is where ignorance about police procedure and naivete about social change come together. At "I Love Franklin Avenue," Mr. Juravich writes, 

This problem of what we might call the "culture of policing" goes straight to the top, where [police commissioner] Ray Kelly, [mayor] Mike Bloomberg, and the rest of the top brass promote it unchecked behind desks and podiums.

That might be true, but it doesn't matter. You don't get to vote for police commissioner, and Bloomberg isn't seeking a fourth term. If you firmly believe the problem is at the top of the chain, then you're admitting little ability to change it. But if you learn the way the chain links together, you can get your issues addressed. You need to learn to work the system, which ain't fun. But it starts with a few important things that require action from the point of contact with the police.

From the point of confrontation, you're likely going to have to ask the officers a few questions, and you might feel uncomfortable doing so. They may try to make it more uncomfortable. Deal with it. Be patient, courteous, and firm. 

The most important thing you can do in any confrontation with a police officer is get his or her name. The name will be written on the left breast, beneath the badge.

Next, get the badge number: four digits printed right onto the shields affixed to the officer's breast and the front of the cap. It's good if the officer sees you writing his or her name and number down. Not a bad idea to ask the officer to verify that name and number.

Finally, look at the officer's collar for his or her precinct command. It'll either be digits indicating a city precinct, or a series of letters indicating a specific command. If you live in and around Crown Heights, it'll most likely read "77" for the local precinct, or "PBBN," meaning  Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, or "BNTF" meaning Brooklyn North Task Force. It's important that you note this designation. Again, a good idea to confirm the designation with the officer.

Note that NYPD commanders with a rank of lieutenant or higher will not have numbers on their badges nor their collars: they instead can be identified by their rank and by what's called tax registration number. They are required to provide this information when asked. 

Get the name, the badge or tax number, the command, and write down the date and time. If you're issued a summons or fine, that's too bad, but it means you have official documentation as well, which can strengthen your case.

With this information, call your precinct. Ask for community affairs, and tell them why you're calling and tell them you want an answer as to why you were issued the summons, why a certain officer was on your roof at such a time, and say you expect a response. They may not follow up, but you will need to.

Call you city councilor's office. They usually have good relationships with the local police and will take note of your complaint and may make an effort to figure out why police officers were on your roof, and why they acted the way they did.

Finally, go to your community board, neighborhood association, and police precinct community council meetings and question your commanding officers about these incidents. Don't expect a satisfying answer immediately: but armed with all the details of your encounter you deny a commanding officer the chance to say he or she can't follow up without further information. 

Just because you insist you want to know why officers acted the way they did doesn't mean you'll get an answer: Police officers may be patrolling roofs for good reasons, and issuing summons for bad reasons. They could be trying to meet quotas production goals, or they could be misinformed about the laws they enforce, or they could be jerks. 

It's not likely you'll get an admission of any of these. But you will be doing everything you can to send a signal that such behavior will be noticed, and recorded, and held to account. That's a very good way of ensuring that at roll call, the commanding officer will tell his tour that certain behavior doesn't fly any more.

Most people who get bothered and ticketed by a police officer will swallow it, take the fine, and then grumble about it to their friends and maybe put some anonymous anger on an Internet message board. It's pathetic, but it makes sense. Most of the people complaining about rooftop harassment haven't any experience with cops. 

So get schooled, and pass the schooling along.

*Update: An earlier edition of this post misspelled Nick Juravitch's name on three occasions. The spelling has been corrected above.