A New York state senator who said he was reported to police for campaigning in his own district wants to make calls to the police on law-abiding black people a hate crime.
State Sen. Jesse Hamilton, a Brooklyn Democrat, proposed new legislation this week that would criminalize making a police report against people of color without evidence of malice, Patch.com reported.
“That’s gonna be a hate crime,” Mr. Hamilton said. “This pattern of calling the police on black people going about their business and participating in the life of our country has to stop.”
The 911 Anti-Discrimination Bill would strengthen current legislation that criminalizes false reports to the police by designating racially motivated 911 calls as hate crimes, Patch.com reported.
The bill is in response to a number of so-called “living while black” incidents that have made headline news in recent months to highlight racism in America. Mr. Hamilton said he was recently reported to police by a white Trump supporter who took issue with him handing out re-election pamphlets in Brooklyn.
“This pattern of calling the police on black people going about their business and participating in the life of our country has to stop,” he said in a statement. “From a student taking a break at Yale, to a student eating lunch at Smith College, to a child selling lemonade, to a person having a barbecue in Oakland, to an Oregon state legislator knocking on doors – the list goes on and on.”
Tomorrow I will introduce the 911 Anti-Discrimination Bill at the Prospect Park station. The legislation aims to combat the misuse of 911 and the many #WhileBlack incidents that have occurred, including the “campaigning while black” incident that happened to me last Thursday. pic.twitter.com/LCm4ZnM1jr
— Jesse Hamilton (@SenatorHamilton) August 14, 2018
Today I introduced the 911 Anti-Discrimination Bill. Living #WhileBlack not a crime, but making a false report to police – especially motivated by hate – should be. https://t.co/pIxoyhQnl3
— Jesse Hamilton (@SenatorHamilton) August 16, 2018
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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