Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Disturbing Audio: Cops Threaten To Arrest Teen "For Being A F*cking Mutt"
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 9, 2012
Modified Oct 9, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 9, 2012
Modified Oct 9, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On June 3, 2011, a 17-year-old boy in Harlem was stopped-and-frisked by NYPD officers. The teenager, named Alvin, made an audio recording of the stop on his cellphone because he had been harassed by police before. After being cursed at and threatened with violence several times by the two officers, one of the officer's takes Alvin's arms and bends it behind his back, as if to arrest him. Alvin then asks why he's being arrested. The officer's response: "For being a fucking mutt."
Ross Tuttle obtained Alvin's tape for The Nation, and interviewed him, along with two active-duty police officers, who recount the pressure put on officers to keep stop-and-frisk numbers high. The full audio begins at the 3:00 mark.
Alvin was not arrested, but shoved away and told to "take a fucking walk." An email asking NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Public Information Paul Browne for comment has not been returned.
“It’s really bad,” one police officer told the Nation after listening to the recording. “It’s not a good thing at all. But it’s really common, I’m sorry to say. It doesn’t have to be like that.” Indeed, we don't remember any officers cursing at or threatening suspects during NYPD stop-and-frisk training sessions that we witnessed this summer.
The NYPD stops more than 1,800 people each day; an overwhelming of them are black or Hispanic. Tomorrow morning the City Council's Safety Committee is holding a hearing to discuss several bills, including one that would require officers to give members of the public they stop a business card, another that would require officers to tell someone not under arrest that they have the right to refuse a search of their person or property, and another would amend the current law defining racial profiling. A fourth would establish an an officer of the Inspector General for the NYPD, which everyone knows we don't need.
Tagged
harlem
nypd
police brutality
racial profiling
Ray Kelly
stop and frisk
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani opts not to define antisemitism in report to combat Jewish hate crimes
The decision avoids a hotly debated issue over whether certain kinds of criticisms of Israel constitute antisemitism.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 11:36 a.m. ET
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NYC has a plan to stop homeless people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
By
Karen Yi
Early Addition: Billy Joel is auctioning off 70 of his motorcycles
By
James Ramsay
Man dragged to death by subway in Brooklyn after getting caught on closing doors
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .