0:00:02 > 0:00:11This programme contains strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:11 > 0:00:15SIRENS WAIL
0:00:42 > 0:00:44PROTESTERS CHANT
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Ramsey has just been arrested for filming the police.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51- Back up.- Why are you standing in front of the camera?- Sir. - Sir, you've got to get...
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Get back on that sidewalk. Go back over there and film over there.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58They hadn't told me why am I being arrested.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17This is my mom's name, Emily.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21This was actually my first tattoo.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I remember I was told I wouldn't be able to get tattoos
0:01:25 > 0:01:27unless it was mom's name.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30So, I went behind my mom's back for Mother's Day
0:01:30 > 0:01:34and got her name tattooed, and since then, I've just been addicted to it.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Eyes of a dead man.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41A part of my life where I felt like I didn't have no soul,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I didn't have no heart and everything was cold around me.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49This is actually a victim to the police brutality stuff.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54This signified how cops were killing us.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Ex-gang member Ramsey Orta faces years in jail.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04It all started when he shot a video of his friend Eric Garner
0:02:04 > 0:02:06being stopped by undercover officers
0:02:06 > 0:02:09on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11For what?
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Every time you see me, you want to mess with me.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14I'm tired of it. It stops today.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18This guy right here is forcibly trying to lock somebody up.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21That day changed my life.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I wish it didn't have to happen this way.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26- Hold up, hold up. - Don't touch me, please.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30- Do not touch me. - BLEEPED OUT
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Oh!
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Why they doing that to him?
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- POLICE OFFICER:- All right, right, he's down, he's down, he's down.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- Lift your hands, buddy. - ERIC'S SPEECH IS MUFFLED - Put your hands behind your head.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Officer had his knee on Eric's neck like this.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56And basically holding him down,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01trying to restrain him, while other officers was twisting his arm.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Everybody back up. Back up.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Watching it now is like... It hurts.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13I get goose bumps
0:03:13 > 0:03:16cos I feel like I could've done a lot more
0:03:16 > 0:03:20than just stand there and videotape.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21He can't breathe.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29They don't even try to take the cuffs of him and give him CPR.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32They don't even try to put an oxygen mask over his face.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34I mean, they just left him there.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Laying on his side with his eyes rolled back and his mouth open.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42And I'm like, "You killed him."
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- Back up, back up.- I was here watching the whole shit.
0:03:45 > 0:03:46You watched everything.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47You know everything.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I couldn't believe it at first and then...
0:03:52 > 0:03:55I went home and took a shower and it hit me like,
0:03:55 > 0:03:56"Damn, they just killed my friend."
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Two days after a New York City grand jury
0:04:03 > 0:04:05cleared a white police officer
0:04:05 > 0:04:08in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10the protests are growing larger
0:04:10 > 0:04:11and spreading the country...
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Ramsey's video triggered demonstrations across America.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16I can't breathe! I can't breathe!
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Hundreds shut down major highways in multiple cities.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23For many, including the city's medical adviser,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26this was a homicide caught on camera.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28I can't breathe! I can't breathe!
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Summer, 2016.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Ramsey's video has still not led to any arrests.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45But it has inspired a network of people
0:04:45 > 0:04:48who use technology to watch the police.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55They're taking on the largest force in America,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57the NYPD.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Brooklyn, New York City.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Dennis Flores is a government employee by day.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16By night, he runs a team that intercepts police radio
0:05:16 > 0:05:18to film arrests as they happen.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20342 10th Street.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Can you check if that's between 3rd and 4th Avenue?
0:05:26 > 0:05:27Let's roll with it.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30We want to deter police abuse.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34So, if our cameras are out there, it's going to help prevent it
0:05:34 > 0:05:37because they know there's extra eyes on them.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40These cameras are bad-cop repellent.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45While it's legal to film the police,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Dennis has been arrested dozens of times...
0:05:49 > 0:05:50..sometimes aggressively.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54So, these cops came, grabbed me, handcuffed me
0:05:54 > 0:05:58and then body-slammed me here, like about five or six cops.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59Slammed me to the floor.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02This one police officer grabbed his walkie-talkie
0:06:02 > 0:06:03and cracked my head open
0:06:03 > 0:06:06as all these other cops came and kicked me, punched me.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08And they dragged me out of here
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and charged me with assaulting the police.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Now, Dennis never films alone.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23He and his team have filmed multiple cases
0:06:23 > 0:06:27of what New York's zero-tolerance policing means in practice.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31So, this is where Ray Tillery was standing
0:06:31 > 0:06:34when he flicked the cigarette onto the street.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The police around him, swarmed him around this entrance.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41As we see in the video,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44right in here, in front of this dollar pizzeria shop,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46he gets arrested.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49What? What are these guys trying to do?
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- Are they trying to handcuff him or what? - Turn around, turn around.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Over ten police officers aggressively take him down
0:06:56 > 0:06:59for flicking a cigarette in the street,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03something that thousands of New Yorkers do every day.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06He can't throw a cigarette butt down?
0:07:06 > 0:07:07Come on, man.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13For every ten people stopped by the NYPD, eight are Black or Hispanic.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Literally, like, the police have a licence to hurt, arrest
0:07:17 > 0:07:19and kill people and get away with it.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Nothing happens to them.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Even those who intervene run the risk of arrest.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30Sebastian Lemos, he was right here and the police were arresting him.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- No!- And as they approached,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34the mother,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37she started telling the cops what you're doing to her son is wrong.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44She's six months pregnant.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46She has a belly out to here.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51You see them struggling with her and he slams her to the floor.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53He puts his knees on her back.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55She just threw her hands up.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Another woman approaches
0:07:57 > 0:08:00and the cop tosses her, flips her over
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and she hits the ground and fractures her kneecap.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06SHE GROANS
0:08:06 > 0:08:09These are crimes being committed by police officers.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13That's why cop watching is effective.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Because here we are keeping a track of all the corrupt cops.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21We're making it public to make sure that people know what's going on
0:08:21 > 0:08:24and this doesn't just get swept under the rug.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Police officer shot in the shoulder.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Now they've got an investigation of the three individuals.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Two of them have been apprehended. The officer has got shot in the shoulder.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55And one individual's still at large.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Anthony Miranda has spent his life in the NYPD.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04They're doing of an infrared in heat
0:09:04 > 0:09:09to try to locate people, probably in the back-yards.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12A senior detective, he's investigated homicides,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15organised crime and police corruption.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18They shot one cop, they wouldn't hesitate to shoot another.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25It's highly unusual
0:09:25 > 0:09:27for a police officer to speak out against his own.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32But after 20 years of service,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Miranda can no longer keep quiet about the behaviour of the police.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42The enforcement against African-Americans and Hispanics
0:09:42 > 0:09:46is ten times more than it is against any other community out there.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51When cops become abusive is when the they start believing
0:09:51 > 0:09:53the mentality that it's us against them.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55And that starts from day one in the police academy.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Any police indoctrination that trains officers
0:09:57 > 0:10:01to disassociate with the communities they grew up in,
0:10:01 > 0:10:02not to identify with the people,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06not even sometimes to identify with their own family members.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11They have no screening process whatsoever for racism.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12They don't do it.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Imagine if the police department can hire somebody
0:10:15 > 0:10:18who has a tattoo on his arm of a hanging...
0:10:18 > 0:10:21of a black person hanging
0:10:21 > 0:10:23and they still qualify to be a New York City police officer.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25- Have you seen that?- Yes.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29White people don't get arrested as much.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32The criminal justice system doesn't prosecute them as much.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33It doesn't charge them
0:10:33 > 0:10:36the same way that they charge African-Americans and Hispanics.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38There's a total imbalance to the process
0:10:38 > 0:10:40that nobody wants to pay attention to.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45Miranda is aware that by making allegations of systemic racism,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48he's pitting himself against the NYPD.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52People say, "Well, these guys are in uniform and they're talking about discrimination.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57"These guys are in uniform and they're talking about the abuses that are going on in our community."
0:10:57 > 0:11:00These were things that were unheard of, like, you would never do that.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02It's like you're taking your life in your own hands.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08The Police Department is the biggest gang in New York.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10You know, you mess with the Police Department
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and the retaliation is direct and absolute.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20The NYPD has 36,000 officers...
0:11:22 > 0:11:24..and a budget of 5 billion.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28It can control every corner of New York.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35In multiethnic areas like the Bronx,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38the department operates a fleet of mobile observation towers.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45These are deployed 24/7 in poor areas.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47The whole place is lit up.
0:11:50 > 0:11:51It's like... It is a war zone.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53It's an occupying force.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Crime rates have fallen to record lows.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02But Jose LaSalle, who runs the local Copwatch team,
0:12:02 > 0:12:07believes this is because the entire community is under siege.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09I'm just filming the lights all around.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18Kind of give people an idea of how police has actually took over
0:12:18 > 0:12:20these projects in the Bronx.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24I mean, there's no problem having police, you know, around.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28My problem is when they just don't follow the proper procedures
0:12:28 > 0:12:30and protocols and take this to a point
0:12:30 > 0:12:34where they just become more of a harassment.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Suddenly, Jose intercepts a police request for backup
0:12:40 > 0:12:42on a possible domestic violence incident
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and disappears down the road.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Jose films as two officers lead a vocal but handcuffed man
0:12:55 > 0:12:56to their vehicle.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- But I didn't do nothing. - INAUDIBLE SPEECH
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Did I hit you? Did I hit you?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04He's walking on his own to the car.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10By the time he reaches the police station,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13multiple officers are carrying him in.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Jose's team seek legal advice.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34They're concerned about the way events are unfolding.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37We ran over, got over here in time to catch him
0:13:37 > 0:13:41being pulled out of the van like a fricking sack of potatoes,
0:13:41 > 0:13:42completely inert.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46What the police officer said that, "He hit his wife,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49"so we can do whatever the fuck we want with him."
0:13:49 > 0:13:51And then ten minutes later,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54an ambulance is called and they brought in a stretcher,
0:13:54 > 0:13:55so we're waiting to see what the story is.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57I'm hoping that he's alive.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03We have some video here of him being pulled into the precinct.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04Wow.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20We don't know what happened to this man.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22But the cop watchers have their suspicions.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26So, somewhere along inside that van,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28this black male got either knocked out,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31beat up by police to the point where he was unconscious.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34They're saying that they have the right to be the judge,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38jury and executioner, you know what I'm saying, because he hit a woman.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Cos, obviously, domestic violence is serious.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44And that's why there's a court system,
0:14:44 > 0:14:45you know, why there's a process.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48You get locked up, you go to court, you see the judge.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Their only job is to arrest people.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Just as the team fears the worst, there's an unexpected development.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Oh, they're bringing him out.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01They're taking him to the hospital.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- Excuse me, sir, are you OK? - Excuse me, excuse me. Excuse me. - I want to know if that man's OK.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09- Hold on, hold on, hold on. - Are you OK, sir?- Stay here.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Sir, are you OK?
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Sir, are you OK?
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- Back up, sir, back up, back up. - Sir, are you OK?
0:15:28 > 0:15:29Why do I have to back up?
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Because we need ample space over here, OK?
0:15:31 > 0:15:34You have ample space. Why are you standing in front of my camera?
0:15:34 > 0:15:38- Back up.- Why are you standing in front of the camera?- Sir. - I've given you space.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42- There's no cars coming, sir. I want to know that man's OK. - You're going to get hit by a car.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- POLICE:- He's not complaining. He has to go to Lincoln. That's it. OK?
0:15:55 > 0:15:59The police seem to have changed their story.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02They're no longer mentioning domestic violence.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Now they're saying that the guy in there is emotionally disturbed,
0:16:05 > 0:16:06which is another way to cover
0:16:06 > 0:16:09why they had to be so aggressive with him.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16The police refuse to give out the man's name,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19so the cop watchers were unable to find out what happened to him.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29What is this?
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Cop watcher Kim Ortiz thinks it's only a matter of time
0:16:35 > 0:16:38before her sons are stopped by the police.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43You know that if a police officer stops you,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46you need to be very, very careful, right?
0:16:46 > 0:16:49- Yeah.- You need to not put your hands to your side, right?
0:16:49 > 0:16:52And you just ask them, "Am I free to go?"
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Or, erm...
0:16:54 > 0:16:55Am I being detained?
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Detained, all right.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Say it, so, "Am I free to go?"
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Am I free to go or I'm being... I'm being detained?
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Excuse me, sir, what are you doing here?
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Can I talk to you for a second?
0:17:06 > 0:17:07Er, yeah.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- SHE LAUGHS - That's not what you're going to say! - No. No!
0:17:10 > 0:17:11No.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13And if they say you're being detained?
0:17:13 > 0:17:15I just need to wait there for a minute.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16You need to wait there
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and then when you get a chance to call Mommy, you call Mommy.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20OK.
0:17:20 > 0:17:21OK?
0:17:21 > 0:17:23OK.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26My nine-year-old's on the autism spectrum.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Aiden is very respectful.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Aiden is very peaceful.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31But he won't understand, you know, their aggressive,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34jump-out-the-car tactics, with guns in faces.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36He will not understand that.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39His mind is not equipped to understand that in that way.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And police aren't equipped to deal with people in that way,
0:17:42 > 0:17:43so I'm terrified,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46especially for Aiden, because of that and, erm...
0:17:46 > 0:17:50so I fight and, you know, hopefully, I fight enough that they don't have to march,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52that they don't have to go through all of this.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Hopefully, something changes, but, you know, the climate is just...
0:17:56 > 0:17:58It's just heartbreaking.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Let me try.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Despite working full-time,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and raising her sons as a single parent...
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Kim cop watches every single week
0:18:11 > 0:18:14to make sure people know their rights.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Do you consent to that search, sir?
0:18:17 > 0:18:21And to gather evidence when the police step out of line.
0:18:21 > 0:18:22We can get you this video.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24You do not have to consent to a search.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Say, "I do not consent to this search."
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- I don't consent to this search. - I've got this on film.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31He does not consent to a search.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34So guess what's going to happen when you get to court.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35This video? Bye-bye.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41So, I know I come across as very aggressive and very militant,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and I am and I'm unapologetic about it, because, like, day-to-day
0:18:45 > 0:18:49I see police harass people and, you know, it's every day.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Like, I can't go one day without seeing someone's rights
0:18:52 > 0:18:54violated by police officers.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57And when you try to call them out on it,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59it's like, "Who are you to talk to me about what I'm doing?
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Like, "Obey me."
0:19:01 > 0:19:02So, yeah, I'm angry, yeah.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04I'm aggressive, yes. I'm militant.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10Because I've been dealing with this shit for a long time now.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11- OFFICER:- Stay back.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14I'm taking one step back. I'm a reasonable distance.
0:19:14 > 0:19:15You keep your hands away from me.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17I'm not the one.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Yeah. I'm not the one.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22SIRENS
0:19:31 > 0:19:34RUNNING WATER
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- FROM VIDEO:- Yo, what's the issue?
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Record that.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43- You need to get out of... - I work for Copwatch.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45- Get out of the street. - Go on the sidewalk.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Ramsey Orta, the man who filmed the death of Eric Garner,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52has been filming the police ever since.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56I told you to stay on the sidewalk. I told you to stay on the sidewalk.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00But when he is arrested filming a traffic stop,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02his wife Bella takes over.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08We are on Baruch and Halston.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Ramsey has just been arrested for standing off of the sidewalk
0:20:13 > 0:20:16while filming the police arrest someone else.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19Jesus fucking Christ.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25With Ramsey behind bars, his wife Bella alerts other cop watchers.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Fuck this world, man. Yeah.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33The charges are obstruction of a government agent
0:20:33 > 0:20:34and disorderly conduct.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Right, I'm like, that's fucking bullshit.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I mean, it's been a crazy week.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47You know? To hear that he got arrested for filming cops.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Once again.
0:20:50 > 0:20:51You know?
0:20:51 > 0:20:54My understanding, he was charged with jaywalking.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- You want your other shoelace? - SHE LAUGHS
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Doing my job.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22After five hours in custody,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26and convinced he's done nothing wrong, Ramsey is released.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Before I approach any situation,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31I'm like, "Yo, my name is Ramsey Orta. I work with Copwatch.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33"I got video footage of everything that went on.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35"Don't try to falsify reports."
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Man, I think you're crazy still filming the police.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45For Ramsey, the battle with the NYPD is personal.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47He doesn't want the death of his friend
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Eric Garner to count for nothing.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52I'm not going to say they won by taking my friend.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57But they won in a sense to show that they don't give a fuck.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00But now it's my turn.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05My main goal is to put pressure on cops.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Once they see camera in somebody's hand or a phone in somebody's hand,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13they're quick to think twice, like, "Oh, shit,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15"I can't do what I wanted to do."
0:22:17 > 0:22:19For Ramsey, the stakes couldn't be higher.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23He has a criminal past.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26And since his video exposing the NYPD went viral,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30he has been arrested in multiple undercover sting operations.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Altogether, I have five bail bonds.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Empire is covering the gun charge,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43cos that was the first case that I caught behind the video.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48And allegations I was selling drugs to an undercover.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51His family is helping pay his bail,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55and each week he has to check in at this bail bond office.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00The names that I'm putting back on the list, it's two cases.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02If my grandmother's on three it's cos she signed for that other two.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03OK.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Ramsay's lawyers, Ken Perry and Will Aronin,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14believe these latest arrests are bogus,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16designed to discredit Ramsey.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20He doesn't have a clean record.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23But that has nothing to do with these cases.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28It does feel that they had it in for someone.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32And I do think that had he not filmed this video, we would
0:23:32 > 0:23:37not be in this situation defending him on six or seven different cases.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42It was more like, "OK, this guy is getting fucked completely."
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Lawyers Aronin and Perry
0:23:46 > 0:23:50specialise in cases of alleged police abuse.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51So, tell me what happened.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- FROM PHONE:- Well, first off...
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Increasingly they are using Copwatch material in their court battles
0:23:59 > 0:24:01with the NYPD.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02Keep on going.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Today, they are meeting Christian Conyers.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It's amazing how lucky it is that this was all on video.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15As you can see on tape, I didn't commit any crime.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17CROWD SHOUTING
0:24:17 > 0:24:20This is me right here.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23He is facing charges of resisting arrest
0:24:23 > 0:24:25after cycling into a demo.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29But footage shot by cop watchers could be key to his defence.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Of course, I looked, you know, to see what was going on,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34but this is where I live.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35I have every right to be here.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37That's when he grabbed me. I had to stand up.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40If I didn't stand up, I would have fell off the bike.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43While this was going on, officers are kicking my legs.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- They're trying to push you down. - They're pushing me down on the floor.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47SHOUTING
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Let's...from the start for a second.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51One, two, three, four, five, six.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53You can see me under here.
0:24:53 > 0:24:54And there you are there.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01You have seven guys as we counted, maybe more on top of you now.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03What are you saying at that point?
0:25:03 > 0:25:05At that point, I'm trying to tell them,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07"I can breathe, I can't breathe!"
0:25:10 > 0:25:14I'm against the ground with three or four different officers on my back.
0:25:14 > 0:25:15How am I supposed to breathe?
0:25:18 > 0:25:21I regard I didn't get a chance to tell any story.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25I wound up spending the night in the hospital. Just madness, man.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Christian will be in court in a few days
0:25:31 > 0:25:34and it's taking its toll on his family.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39My son doesn't even look at the police the same now.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42He shouldn't live in a place in which he fears the people
0:25:42 > 0:25:44that are supposed to serve and protect him.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50- You're going to go to court?- Yeah, me and Mommy got to go to court.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Just in case anything happens, Mommy is going to come with me.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59I mean, I don't think anything is going to happen
0:25:59 > 0:26:02but in the event that it does, it would be better
0:26:02 > 0:26:06for Mommy to know, because the courts are not going to call
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and tell Mommy that they are remanding me or anything like that.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20The gulf between cop watchers and the NYPD has never been greater.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- We're here tonight... - ALL:- We're here tonight.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- Because black lives matter. - ALL:- Because black lives matter.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Each week, they meet to remember a person of colour who's
0:26:29 > 0:26:33died at the hands of the police.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Every Monday for over a year, we've been highlighting different cases of
0:26:36 > 0:26:39police brutality and unfortunately we're not running out of names.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42They're going to shut down the streets, they're going to do
0:26:42 > 0:26:45some civil disobedience to draw attention to the issue.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47REPORTER: Are they going to get arrested?
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Most likely some of them will.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- What do we want?- ALL:- Justice. - And when do we want it?- ALL:- Now.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- What do we want?- ALL:- Justice. - And when do we want it?- ALL:- Now.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00- And if we don't get it? - ALL:- Shut it down.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04There is some brave people willing to
0:27:04 > 0:27:06put their lives at the hands of the police, you know?
0:27:09 > 0:27:16All I can do is watch their backs and film as much as I'm able to do.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- ALL:- Shut it down.- And if we don't get it?- ALL:- Shut it down.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24- If we don't get it? - ALL:- Shut it down.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28These two sides now view each other with complete hostility.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37SHOUTING
0:27:37 > 0:27:39- But while you're shopping... - ALL:- But while you're shopping.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43- Black people are dying. - ALL:- Black people are dying.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46- By the hands of the police. - ALL:- By the hands of the police.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50- Put your fist in the air. - ALL:- Put your fist in the air.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55- ALL:- Our lives matter. Black lives matter.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00- Black lives matter. - ALL:- Black lives matter.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Rather than target the main demonstration,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10the police single out one of the cop watchers they know well.
0:28:27 > 0:28:28Go back and film over there.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31This is the 75th time Dennis has been arrested.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34You've got to get back in your little space.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36REPORTER: What's happened, Dennis?
0:28:36 > 0:28:38There are arresting me. I have no clue.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I have no idea why they are arresting me.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43They haven't told me why I'm being arrested.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Sir, please step back on the sidewalk. You're on the street.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49The more we report of your abuse, the more people win,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51the more we win.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Three, six, seven cops on somebody who was walking on the crosswalk?
0:28:55 > 0:28:58It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00- All:- It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03- It is our duty to win. - ALL:- It is our duty to win.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05We must love and support each other.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07- ALL:- We must love and support each other.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10We have nothing to lose but our chains.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12- ALL:- We have nothing to lose but our chains.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15We have nothing to lose but our chains.
0:29:15 > 0:29:20Dennis is driven to the nearest police station for processing...
0:29:24 > 0:29:27..but just two hours later, he's released on bail.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28Look what they gave me.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32They locked me up, kept me in there for an hour and they gave me
0:29:32 > 0:29:37a ticket for disorderly conduct, because they claim that
0:29:37 > 0:29:40I was crossing the street when there was a red light.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Luckily for me, I videotaped the entire thing
0:29:43 > 0:29:45as I crossed the street.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49I made sure I documented the traffic signal.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52I don't even jaywalk when I cop watch.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55And I recorded myself being stopped in the middle of the street when
0:29:55 > 0:29:58it was still my turn to cross and I was arrested for doing nothing.
0:30:03 > 0:30:04Kim is in court today.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Six months ago, she was also arrested when filming the police.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16He wasn't doing anything!
0:30:16 > 0:30:20- REPORTER: Are you nervous about today?- No, I'm not nervous.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24I have video evidence that it was a completely bogus arrest.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27I'm not nervous at all. If anything, it's just inconvenient that
0:30:27 > 0:30:30I have to keep taking time out to keep doing this and I'm not
0:30:30 > 0:30:34going to fall for this bogus charge just because that's what they want.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43But when Kim's case is called,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47the arresting officer doesn't turn up and her trial is postponed.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50She believes it's part of a deliberate strategy
0:30:50 > 0:30:51to wear cop watchers down.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57The irony, I think, is that had I not shown up, I would have had
0:30:57 > 0:31:00a warrant for my arrest, but he can come as he pleases
0:31:00 > 0:31:02or not come at all.
0:31:05 > 0:31:06I mean, let's be perfectly honest.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09You know, this is a white supremacist country.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13The laws, the courts, the police, everything runs on white
0:31:13 > 0:31:16supremacy, so you have the cards stacked against you.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19If you're a person of colour, you have the cards stacked against you.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22If you're a poor person, you have the cards stacked against you.
0:31:22 > 0:31:23If you're a woman of colour.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26REPORTER: What about people who say you're exaggerating?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29I would ask those people to come and sit down and I would ask
0:31:29 > 0:31:32those people to witness what we witness all the time.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I would also be insulted because someone that would say I'm
0:31:35 > 0:31:38exaggerating is someone that probably lives in the suburbs
0:31:38 > 0:31:40and has no idea the issues that I'm talking about,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43because it doesn't affect or pertain to them.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49Is there a reason behind all these arrests
0:31:49 > 0:31:51and seemingly heavy-handed tactics?
0:31:54 > 0:31:59One serving NYPD officer with 17 years' experience
0:31:59 > 0:32:01is prepared to speak out.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06This was actually my graduation, one of my graduation jackets.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Julio Diaz is president of New York's
0:32:08 > 0:32:10Latino Officers Association.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14- REPORTER: When was your graduation? - 1999.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19He's now bringing a class action lawsuit against the NYPD
0:32:19 > 0:32:23claiming the existence of secret and illegal arrest quotas.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32The police department will retaliate against you
0:32:32 > 0:32:34if they think you're saying something they don't like.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Quotas is something that they don't want people to know about.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42If you put a system now that tells police officers to go out there
0:32:42 > 0:32:45and go stop people and here's a number and if you don't come back
0:32:45 > 0:32:48with that number, you're going to be disciplined,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51you're going to cause some problems with the police department,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54with some police officers because they might not know the balance now.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57They might go, "OK, I've got to get this at all costs."
0:32:57 > 0:33:00The minority communities, Latino you African American communities
0:33:00 > 0:33:06are being targeted as enforcement strategy by the NYPD.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10Who are you going to target more?
0:33:10 > 0:33:12The poor people, the people who are not going to sue you,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15the people who're not going to fight back, the people
0:33:15 > 0:33:19that you know are not going to call a politician to come after you?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21These are the people that are getting targeted.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27These allegations that the NYPD aggressively pursue arrest targets
0:33:27 > 0:33:30were recently put to Police Commissioner Bratton.
0:33:30 > 0:33:36Bullshit! Bullshit is my response to that. Quite clearly.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39If any of my cops out there still think we're pushing for the
0:33:39 > 0:33:44summonses, etc, I'm sorry, we're pushing to reduce crime.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Despite this official denial,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Detective Miranda is adamant quotas not only exist
0:33:57 > 0:34:01but were a key factor in the arrest of Eric Garner.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06They went out here to put his ass in jail for something that he
0:34:06 > 0:34:07didn't do.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10To constitute the sale,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13they had to have seen the exchange of money and the cigarettes.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Their own reports after the incident, they never said that they
0:34:16 > 0:34:20saw an actual exchange between Eric Gardner and anybody else.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23So if that was the premise in why you stopped him,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26your stop was illegal. Your approach to him was illegal
0:34:26 > 0:34:31and you should never have approached him to begin with.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35I am minding my business, officer. I'm minding my business.
0:34:35 > 0:34:36Please, just leave me alone.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38He said, "These guys are targeting me,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40"they're planting evidence on me."
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Are you seemingly wanting to mess with me? I'm tired of it.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47According to Miranda, not only were the detectives aiming to hit
0:34:47 > 0:34:51their quota, they were also punishing Eric for daring
0:34:51 > 0:34:54to complain about harassment.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Prior to this, he's already made allegations against a team
0:34:56 > 0:35:01at Staten Island. The same officers that they had planted evidence
0:35:01 > 0:35:04on him and falsely arresting him and accusing him of a crime.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07- Don't touch me!- BLEEP
0:35:12 > 0:35:15I can't breathe! I can't breathe!
0:35:15 > 0:35:18To establish that they retaliated against him was easy
0:35:18 > 0:35:20for any federal investigator,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22anybody with authority and oversight.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25The City Council, all these people who held the hearings, nobody
0:35:25 > 0:35:29asked the right questions because they didn't want the right answers.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31We should all be up in arms.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Two years on and people in the community are still angry.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43They cannot understand why the police have not
0:35:43 > 0:35:44been held accountable.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48You telling the true story? Are you sure?
0:35:52 > 0:35:55If it can happen to him, it can happen to my sons, you know,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57my sisters, my brothers and it's been happening.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01To find out later when it came out and it said
0:36:01 > 0:36:07he was not going to be prosecuted, the police officer, I lost it.
0:36:07 > 0:36:13- ALL:- The whole damn system is guilty as hell.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18For many New Yorkers, the fact the officers involved in the chokehold
0:36:18 > 0:36:23death of Eric Garner face no charges while Ramsey Orta,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26the man who filmed it all, faces years in jail,
0:36:26 > 0:36:29shows the imbalance in the system.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35- ALL:- The whole damn system is guilty as hell.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37Ramsey knows we've had this conversation with him
0:36:37 > 0:36:40very seriously many, many times.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43This case has to be resolved at some point.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48Do I expect that all the police officers will be saying nothing
0:36:48 > 0:36:50but all the truth? No.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54I assume the police officers are going to be lying on the stand
0:36:54 > 0:36:56to get done what they want,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59to get done what they think is in their interest.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03If everything went wrong, 118 years maximum.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05He's theoretically facing 118 years.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13For some, Ramsey is a career criminal hiding behind allegations
0:37:13 > 0:37:17of NYPD brutality.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20To others, he's a hero.
0:37:21 > 0:37:27I exposed, literally, the modern day lynching.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32That's what happened. They choked him to death.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37I don't regret it but I don't want to be dealing with this shit.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42I'm about to go give up some time for my life for taking a video.
0:37:44 > 0:37:45It's going to be a rough ride,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48but hopefully I've got my head on my shoulders
0:37:48 > 0:37:50by the time I get in there.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57- REPORTER: What's the worst it can be now? What's the worst?- Death.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59Pretty much.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02You'll probably be doing me a favour because I haven't got to go
0:38:02 > 0:38:05through this bullshit that I'm going through now.
0:38:34 > 0:38:35I had a great career.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41I did, I had a great career.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49For Detective Miranda, the criminal justice system is out of control.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54He's seen the prison population of America increase by
0:38:54 > 0:38:582 million people and maintains each arrest,
0:38:58 > 0:39:02trial and conviction helps hit a financial target.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08People make money from this whole process.
0:39:08 > 0:39:09This is a moneymaking system.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13The summons generate income, the arrests generate an entire system.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16When you arrest somebody, everybody is making money.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18The courts make money, the jails make money,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21the court officers make money, the correction officers make money.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24It's a money generating system that nobody wants to correct
0:39:24 > 0:39:26the imbalance, because if you make it fair,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29then there won't be as much income in the system.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31That's just the reality of it.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34The city won't make the same amount of money.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38I think cop watching should be everybody.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40I think everybody who owns a camera now,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43everyone who owns a cellphone should be a part of Copwatch.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Every time you see something going on, you should take the picture.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Despite the cop watcher's video,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Christian Conyers is back in court today.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03If convicted, he faces a one-year sentence.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Go in there and do what you got to do today, man.
0:40:18 > 0:40:24Behave and do a good job today. All right? No complaints, all right?
0:40:24 > 0:40:27- All right?- OK.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33- See you later.- Who's going to get me from school today?- Huh?
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Who's going to pick me up from school today?
0:40:37 > 0:40:41Either me or Mommy should be able to pick you up. All right?
0:40:42 > 0:40:45If anything, at the most, Grandpa.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48It'll probably be me and Mommy, all right?
0:40:48 > 0:40:52I love you. See you later.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Go ahead, man.
0:41:05 > 0:41:11This seems a community more divided than united by the police.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20This is the view from my son's bedroom. Police sitting right here.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25They're here every day, day and night 24/7.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31Think about it. They're right here.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36It's almost like an invasion of your privacy.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39It's supposed to be New York City public housing, you know?
0:41:41 > 0:41:45But when you come home, they sit right outside your window.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46You're not free.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52Who's anyone to say that you're free walking around in New York City
0:41:52 > 0:41:54or anywhere in America right now?
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Especially being a black man.