Against a buffer zone

To the editor:

I have two problems with the police unions' push for a law requiring a 15 foot buffer zone around police officers making an arrest.

In cases where the officers' actions are warranted, they already have the power to arrest those interfering with them. But in cases of police misconduct, such a law would make it difficult for witnesses to video record the incident.

Police who advocate for this law have chosen the wrong incident to support it, the beating and arrest of home health aide and security guard Timothy Brown. This was for a drug sale he was not guilty of.

Cops have argued that even innocent people should not resist arrest. But it is understandable that the prospect of a trip to a dangerous place such as Rikers Island would especially scare an innocent person. The fact that this is an experience that is way more common for Black as opposed to white people also raises the issue of racial bias.

Everybody is entitled to due process, including arresting the arresting officers, detectives Volkan Maden and Michael Algerio. But the investigation of them to determine whether this was an honest and understandable mistake or not should include at least these three questions.

Did the detectives witness the drug sale? If so, did Brown resemble the drug dealer? If they did not witness it, did Brown resemble the description given to the detectives of the drug dealer?

Richard Warren