In late July 1997, the three Democratic primary mayoral
candidates were in a race to see who would eventually lose to the popular
incumbent. The competitors were mud slinging at each other and were
unable to find fault with current Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Then something
happened on a mid August night to turn the tide against the Republican
mayor.
August 12, 1997, a Haitian immigrant named
Abner Louima was arrested in Brooklyn's 70th precinct. Several hours
after his arrest Mr. Louima was hospitalized for treatment of cuts, bruises,
broken bones and bleeding from his lower body. Police originally
claimed Mr. Louima unsuccessfully attempted suicide. The attending
paramedics and physicians grew suspicious. Within a few hours the
press got wind of this story and the phrase "Police Brutality" became attached
to this situation.
When Mr. Louima became aware enough to speak he
told of a brutal torture he was submitted to by a group of New York City
police officers. Mr. Louima spoke of an act that included a
relentless beating and sodomy performed by the officers with the handle
of a toilet plunger.
It did not take long for this story to become news
and to outrage the people of New York. It also took no time for the
three Democratic candidates to find their weapon against Mayor Giuliani
in an otherwise non-issue campaign.
The three democrats, Ruth Messinger, Rev. Al Sharpton
and Sal Albanese, all used different angles to gain voter attention
to this issue. Rev. Sharpton, was found right next to Mr. Louima's
hospital bed. He expounded on how Mr. Louima's civil rights and civil liberties
were infringed upon.
Mr. Albanese could be heard condemning the
mayor for being lax on the officers and claiming the screening process
for police recruits had it's share of shortcomings.
Ms. Messinnger, the front runner of the campaign
at the time, was more cautious and selective with her criticism of the
mayor's handling of the situation. She claimed she would not jump
to conclusions until the facts were complete. She did feel the rise
of police brutality cases in New York City had a direct link to the mayor's
office.
Mayor Giuliani thought the criticism from
the three democratic hopefuls would divide the city into groups for and
against the police department. He accused his possible opponents
as exploiting an unfortunate situation for political gain.
Mr. Sharpton who is a nationally known Civil
Rights advocate and a key figure in several Civil Rights cases, laughed
at Mr. Giuliani's claim. "We won't let him of the hook." Mr.
Sharpton said in article in the New York Times published in August.
Mr. Albanese accused the Mayor of being the
person of making this situation political. "I'm not doing this for
political purposes. I've been responsible when it comes to the issue of
policing." Mr. Albanese told the New York Times in an August 21,
1997 story.
The less vocal, but as involved Ms. Messinger
felt that the mayors attempt of creating a task force to curb police brutality
and quiet an outraged citizenry was a transparent political move.
Ms. Messinger, a long time city council member, suggested a more productive
task force would be one independent from city hall. Mr. Giuliani
eventually created a citizens task force very similar to Ms. Messinger's
suggestion between the September 9 primary and the November 1997 general
election.
Different approaches were used in the politicians
visiting Mr. Louima during his stay in the hospital. While the Mayor
and Mr. Sharpton made their visits a major press event, Ms. Messinger reportedly
snuck into the hospital and her staff did not notify the press of her visit.
Ms. Messinger felt that seeking exposure while visiting Mr. Louima
in his horrible condition is not her style.
Mr. Sharpton's numerous on camera visits to
Mr. Louima's bedside seemed to help move him up from third place to a dead
heat with Ms. Messinger in the campaign. Mr. Sharpton's strategy
of reminding all minorities of past police brutality against them.
Then warning of future attacks by a police force under Mayor Giuliani.
Before the Louima situation, the mayor basked
in the drop of crime that started during the Dinkins administration.
The decrease in crime surged when Mr. Guiliani implemented his campaign
against crimes that endangered the "Quality of Life" in New York City.
This campaign had police actually arresting people for crimes that used
to be ignored. Offenses such as public intoxication, loud radio playing
and turnstile jumping used to be passed by for more punishable crimes such
drug dealing, auto theft and murder. The mayor hired over 1,000 more
police officers to help fight all crime especially the "Quality of Life
" offenses.
The hardest hit areas for the "Quality of
Life" campaign were predominantly minority neighborhoods. Areas that
had very little police presence became heavily policed neighborhoods.
Mr. Sharpton used this police involvement as an attack against minorities.
He warned the minorities that they were being targeted by the police.
Mr. Sharpton campaigned on the notion if he would not be elected mayor
of New York this trend would continue to grow.
With this fear on his side and Ms. Messinger's
less aggressive approach on police brutality, Mr. Sharpton made the primary
extremely close. Ms. Messinger narrowly escaped an additional "Run-Off"
election with Mr. Sharpton.
Police brutality was not as hot of a topic
during the general election. Ms. Messinger opted to make her key
issue the New York City public school system. Ms. Messinger found
herself in trouble each time she would stray towards police brutality.
The mayor would remind the citizens of New York the sharp decline in crime
within his first term. He would also remind them that his opponent
in 1992 publicly criticized the police for a shooting, that it was later
revealed that the victim was a drug dealer. Ms. Messinger had
admitted that her comments were a mistake, but the Giuliani campaign was
relentless in portraying Messinger as being soft on crime.
In late October the campaign became virtually
sealed for Mayor Giuliani when the Police Officers Union endorsed him as
their candidate. On November 4, 1997 Mr. Giuliani won his re-election
bid in a landslide. The voters of New York spoke for a stronger police
and less crime regardless of the tactics to achieve a higher Quality of
Life.