New York – Everyone knows the Miranda warning – you have the right to remain silent, and so on and so forth. And now a city councilman thinks New York civilization is so benighted and backward as to require more.
David Greenfield of Brooklyn would minister to the sensibilities of criminal defendants by, in effect, adding the following: You have the right to be shielded from being photographed by the press while you are in police custody.
As high-minded claptrap goes, this is a doozy.
Outraged that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a very powerful, very prominent, very wealthy, very French criminal suspect, was photographed and videotaped in cuffs, Greenfield is proposing a law to ban the NYPD from “facilitating the public display of an individual arrested for a crime.”
He seeks to ban the perp walk, seeming to believe the wildly fanciful notion that cops parade defendants before the media as if they’re on a Fashion Week catwalk. Actually, the typical occurence is benignly mundane:
Police arrest newsworthy individual. Police bring suspect to stationhouse in car. Press learns of arrest. Press assembles outside stationhouse. Police bring suspect out for transport to court. Press takes pictures there and as suspect is led into court.
The photos capture history. They do not punish. They record how punishment is meted out, or not. Entertainment value aside, the public should see and know.
Would Greenfield also bar courts from allowing cameras at arraignments? Would he have denied the public televised access to the Casey Anthony trial? After all, she was acquitted of murder. And what, exactly, would Greenfield have the NYPD do? Give suspects clown masks?
Our suspicion is that Strauss-Kahn was happy to appear as if he had been put through a wringer. If not, his lawyers did him a disservice. They should have used the great raincoat dodge invented by PR whiz Morty Matz.
Stand tall. Straighten your tie. Hang raincoat over handcuffs. Walk to your fate like a carefree country gentleman.
A person is innocent until proven guilty. How many defendents have been publically shamed and humiliated, only to be later found innocent at trial.
Councilman Greenfield, keep up your super performance.
thats stupid. there should be a perp walk. the public has the right to see the criminals accused of crimes, and it is also a parade to say thank you to the cops who did a good job catching the bad guy
This is a ridiculous article and not worthy of the space it takes up. Every black suspect is allowed to cover their head with a hoody and puts their head down so they are NOT photographed. Everyone should be equally given the same privilege, whether they are given a newspaper or anything else to shield themselves from reporters if they so choose. If they don’t care, they don’t care. But they should be given the same rights as any BLACK rapist.
Of course the DN wants it, it sells papers. I may grant it to them if when the person is found guilty or charges dropped they put the story on the front page with big words we were mistaken.
And why should those who are innocent or just accused have to be harrased in such a way. I say for the sake of those innocent don’t do it to anybody. Once they are proven guilty put in the pictures
Mr Greenfield don’t be intimidated by the DN.