October 29, 2013

H/T to WPRO's Steve Klamkin for the video clip.

A small but vocal group of protesters Tuesday shouted down New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly at Brown University, leading administrators to cancel his lecture after he delivered only a few words.

Kelly has been heralded for bringing crime in New York City to the lowest point in more than 50 years, but he has also been in the spotlight after a federal judge ruled that the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practice was unconstitutional because it disproportionately targets minorities.

Kelly was scheduled to give a short lecture followed by a question and answer session. The speech was intended to cover the NYPD's approach to policing and stop-and-frisk.

Students booed Mr. Kelly as he was introduced by Marion Orr, the director of the Taubman Center, and began loudly talking over him when he began to speak.

“From NYC to PVD, stop police brutality,” they chanted as Kelly fled the stage.

Brown University president Christina Paxson was none too pleased with the protests: “The conduct of disruptive members of the audience is indefensible and an affront both to civil democratic society and to the University's core values of dialog and the free exchange of views,” she said in a statement.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon