Quicklink, Part II: Stop, Frisk & Penalize

(Or: Beauty, Revisited)

Some of you might recall this photo of her which I shared just shy of two months ago. About Beauty, Chris Arnade, wrote:

Beauty, 21, was born and raised in Oklahoma, and was brought to New York City by a pimp who promised her she could “make some mad money.” She has since had nine pimps: “I have been through nine niggas. Got my first black eye from one, another punched me in mouth, but this guy is good to me.”

Her mother was an addict. “She started using crack. That’s when it all started, the walls started coming in on me. Now she is incarcerated. I can’t blame my mom–she’s my mom. I smoke weed, but not crack. I don’t like that peppermint burning smell.”

“I want to get out of this stuff, but I am scared. I guess I could stop at any time. Some of the guys tell me I could be a model. Money wise it’s good, but otherwise, fuck Hunts Point. Maybe I can become an RN, or go into childcare.”

When I asked her how she wanted to be described she said, “I’m a good person. I don’t like to see anyone down. I like to make people happy.”

Today Chris emailed me an update about Beauty. The subject line of his email was as follows:

Not sure if you ever do links

On occasion, I do. Given his tome pertains to “stop and frisk” (which is exercised quite liberally in the 90th Precinct)— one of the most odious assaults on our civil rights and an enabler for racial profiling—  I will. Follows is an excerpt from his tome:

I was talking to Beauty as she sat on the concrete wall outside of Lafayette Park, across from the methadone clinic in Hunts Point. She is an addict and sex worker. Two officers approached and asked me to stand aside so they could question Beauty. What was her name? Where was she from? What was in her cup? “Soda” (they smelled, yes soda). Did she have any outstanding warrants? Let me see your bag? Why are your shoes off? “I am hot and relaxing.” A few minutes later she is charged with disorderly conduct.  Her conduct then was about as disorderly as mine, but her past conduct far more. This is a common occurrence for the addicts, homeless and sex workers in Hunts Point. It is more than stop and frisk: It’s stop, frisk, and penalize.

These nuisance tickets, such as disorderly conduct, come with a future court date, that if missed, turns into an outstanding warrant. With little legal help and a very long rap sheet, few addicts will fight them. 

How is this helpful to either the community or the addict…

Excellent question, Mr. Arnade.