Abner Louima Case

Nonetheless, there were tensions, including a rupture in police-community relations. That is seen in the case of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was tortured by police officers. He was arrested in the midst of a fight outside Club Rendez-Vous on Flatbush Avenue near Glenwood Road in 1997. At the 70th Precinct, a police officer sodomized Louima with a broomstick and later bragged about it, according to court testimony. The officer, Justin A. Volpe, blamed Louima for punching him during a brawl. It was later established that someone else had punched Volpe, who was sentenced to thirty years in prison for his assault on Louima. The case caused anger in Flatbush’s large Haitian community. ^[1][2]

By this time, Flatbush had a large percentage of Haitians and other West Indians. In order to combat these racial tensions that arose in Flatbush, Police Commissioner Howard Safir attempted to add more racial diversity to the ranks, putting more officers in the precinct. Racial tensions continued to grow and Safir and his precinct had to answer to the public. The New York Amsterdam News reported, “In a field deposition, Safir attempted to justify the transfer by stating there was a great potential for civil disturbance, and the Police Department needed to act quickly and expeditiously to calm the community.”This shows how controversial the case had become. If the people who have to keep the city safe do not know how to listen to the public, it becomes much more difficult to do effective police work. Safir also stated, “We need to move some additional African-American police officers into the Seven-O. We’re in the process of doing that.” This was directly after the Louima incident.^[3]

^[1] David M. Herszenhorn, “A Five-Year Legal Fight,” The New York Times, September 23, 2002.

^[2]Joseph Fried, “In Surprise, Witness Says Officer Bragged About Louima Torture,” The New York Times, May 19, 1999.

^{[3]Charles Brooks. “NYPD transfers spur anger,” New York Amsterdam News, September 23, 1999.}