African Americans in parts of New York City are being arrested for violating social distancing rules at a far higher rate than white people, according to data from the Brooklyn district attorney.
Data showed that between 17 March and 4 May, 40 people were arrested in Brooklyn for breaking social distancing rules. One was white, four were Hispanic and 35 were black.
The figures lend weight to anecdotal evidence which suggests that whiter and more affluent areas of the city are less likely to be targeted by police. More than a third of the arrests were made in the predominantly black neighbourhood of Brownsville, while no arrests were made in the predominantly white neighbourhood of Park Slope.
People have been sharing images showing how police are apparently altering their approaches to enforcing social distancing, depending on the neighbourhood.
One widely shared tweet juxtaposed officers handing masks out to a group of non-socially distancing white people in a park with the actions of an officer in the East Village in Manhattan. Video footage showed the officer approaching and punching a person of color, following a dispute over social distancing.
After the New York Times reported the disparity in arrest numbers on Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio responded in a tweet.
“The disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values,” De Blasio said. “We HAVE TO do better and we WILL.”
Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New York’s predominantly African American eighth congressional district, told the Times police tactics were similar to “stop and frisk” – the widely condemned practice which disproportionately targeted black and Latino people.
“We can’t unleash a new era of overly aggressive policing of communities of color in the name of social distancing,” Jeffries said.
