Freedom Socialists Protest Police Brutality and Sexual Abuse
The group marched from Washington Square Park to Chelsea
By: Ben Brachfeld and Izzie Ramirez
Protesters marched from Washington Square Park through the West Village Thursday night to protest the lack of accountability for two NYPD officers who allegedly raped 18-year-old Anna Chambers in September.
The Freedom Socialists, a self-described socialist feminist political party, organized the latest protest against the NYPD in the wake of Chambers’ alleged rape. Chambers, who is now 19, says she was taken into custody after smoking marijuana in a car, and was subsequently raped by detectives Richard Hall and Eddie Martins in an unmarked van in a Chipotle parking lot.
Chambers later said that, while she was in the hospital, nine officers came to her room in order to intimidate her. She told the New York Post that the officers were “pressing [her], saying things like, ‘oh, this isn’t the first time you’re having an encounter with the police.’” Chambers also recalled the officers denying that the officers who raped her were police officers.
The officers’ defense is that the sex was consensual, but numerous advocates argue that, by definition, officers having sex with someone in custody cannot be consensual. Mark Treyger, the City Council Member who represents the district where the assault occurred, said the lack of an explicit ban on this type of behavior is an obvious omission from the penal code. He is currently drafting legislation to address the matter.
Both Hall and Martins quit the force three days before their scheduled internal trial. The officers have also been indicted in Brooklyn District Court on charges, including rape and kidnapping.
“They’ve got the best unions, the best lawyers in New York State,” said Sam, a protester who asked to only be identified by his first name. “So whenever a nice white guy with a decent record does something like this, they’re less likely to believe the victim because of power structures.”
Initially, approximately 30 protesters converged in Washington Square Park, and then flooded the streets of the West Village, walking around cars until a bevy of cops — on foot and on scooters — demanded they clear out and use the sidewalks instead.
When the protesters marched through the streets and blocked traffic, the NYPD began using a dispersion siren, a common tactic when marches do not have permits. The protesters chanted rallying cries such as “Our streets, our blocks, we don’t need these rapist cops!” and “Black lives matter, brown lives matter! Blue’s a job, that shit don’t matter!”
Eventually, the protesters made their way to the High Line — therefore evading the cops on scooters — and hung a banner over the railing that read “NYPD Cops E Martin & R Hall are rapists.” The sign was taken down hours later.
“[It] always sucks but it’s always kind of liberating,” said Jacob, a protester. “It’s a balancing act between just letting it tailspin you into anxiety, and then not letting it manically empower you to something that you couldn’t do. But always terrifying and always empowering.”
As for potential fixes, some protesters, like Tim (who refused to give his last name), said the answer to police brutality is to completely abolish the NYPD and replace it with community-based solutions.
Another idea was to make the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a watchdog tasked with arbitrating and prosecuting complaints against police misconduct, an elected body rather than one appointed by the Mayor, the City Council, and the Police Commissioner. This would supposedly create a CCRB more representative of the City that is more responsive to the needs of the community.
Others weren’t as eager to completely abolish the police department, but agreed that the department needed to be completely reformed.
“How I think policing should be is I think it should be something that should be treated like something that’s a public duty,” Sam said, “instead of what they’re treated like, which is centurions. Just like here’s your issue, rank, and number, don’t say anything wrong. I mean, we’ve all seen Serpico.”
Correction: The Freedom Socialist Party did not organize the rally. Resisters, Justice for Anna Chambers, Hoods4Justice and Bashback organized the march.
