Police officers in Suffolk County, a county which has already been placed under federal monitoring for its poor treatments of Latinos, have allegedly been robbing Latino men after pulling them over for traffic stops.
The New York Times reports that several men, many of them without legal residency, have been preyed upon by the Suffolk County police department. During traffic stops police officers allegedly ask the men to leave the stopped vehicle, have them turn around, and then the officers will help themselves to the contents of the driver's wallet.
Officials say at least one officer, Sgt. Scott A. Greene, has already been caught by an undercover Latino officer. The 25-year veteran of the department allegedly took $100 dollars from an envelope the undercover officer had left on the seat after Green pulled him over. (Green has pleaded not guilty.) "Don’t turn around,” another Latino construction worker was reportedly told by a police officer during a stop. When he was finally given his wallet back, it was missing $200.
Despite widespread reports of the practice, the victims have been reluctant to step forward because of their legal status. They worry if they were to report the theft, they would be involved in deportation actions.
The stops in Suffolk County are a shade more unscrupulous than the NYPD's interpretation of civil forfeiture, where the NYPD helps itself to the cash of low-income or vulnerable citizens during arrests or stops, counting on their hesitation to fight to get their money back.
Suffolk County is so far probing the thefts internally, and the crimes are not yet part of the broader investigations into mistreatment of Latinos by the county—this worries local organizers.
"We’re concerned about how forceful and comprehensive this investigation really is,” Juan Cartagena, president and general counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, an advocacy group said. “This is the same police department that has demonstrated an inability to protect Latinos for years now.”
The median income for an undocumented household in the United States is $36,000 according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The salary for a Suffolk County police officer with five years of experience is $108,068.
