The NYPD isn’t having a banner September thus far, this after Black retired tennis star James Blake was roughed up by officers last week. Now, a Black cop with the department’s Highway Division has come forward with claims he’s faced racism and other forms of mistreatment during his time with the force.
In an exclusive chat wth the New York Daily News, 40-year-old Dana Harge has alleged that officials in the Highway Division have hindered his career progress and much of it is related to the color of his skin. Further, Officer Harge claimed that officials placed impossible ticket quotas on him and other officers in a bid to break his spirit and disrupt his rise in the ranks as well.
From the Daily News:
A black cop is blowing the whistle on the NYPD Highway Division, alleging “racism is routine” in the elite unit and there is a quota to write 70 summonses per month, the Daily News has learned.
“Any officer not making his quota can be given inconvenient tours of duty, a bad car to work with and even an involuntary transfer out of Highway, something which bodes badly for the officer’s career,” Officer Dana Harge, 40, charges in his bombshell federal complaint.
“Many of the actions taken against me were motivated by racism and were intended to prevent me from making my quota and would have resulted in the desired end of an involuntary transfer.”
Harge filed the discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last month and also filed a complaint with the NYPD’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity in May.
An NYPD spokesman confirmed the complaint is currently under investigation and did not comment further on the cop’s allegations.
Harge has been assigned in Queens for Highway Unit. No. 3 since 2008. Despite what he called a “stellar” arrest record and a propensity to meet and exceed ticket quotas, Harge still feels that race is the main factor in the stalling of his promotion in the force.
Harge was slated for a detective ranking upgrade but says his paperwork has gone missing despite having record it was logged in the NYPD’s system.
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Photo: Handout/Dana Harge
