Bushwick is a neighborhood in Brooklyn with one of the highest crime rates in New York City. There was a gang murder and on the day (or night) of the wake for the victim, the police arrested about 30 people who were outside or trying to enter the funeral home, apparently wearing colors (I didn't know that. In the video someone mentions wanting their red bandanas returned). So in my opinion, referring to the people who were arrested as "students" is probably disingenuous. Whether they are students or not is irrelevant in my opinion.
I don't condone police harrassment but there is not nearly enough police presence in that neighborhood. I lived in Bushwick for a year, and I have never felt so unsafe, and I have lived in Brooklyn for almost 10 years, and before that Chicago for 25 years. There was a murder outside my front door in November 2006. Crime is a very serious problem in Bushwick, including murder, rape, assault, armed robbery and drug dealing... "street crime".
In addition, poverty is a huge problem. Half the people living in Bushwick are on public assistance. You see loads and loads of teenagers hanging around, with nothing to do. It's like a part of New York City that nobody seems to care about. Like any neighborhood, some blocks are worse than others. I lived on a corner of Bushwick where the police installed a video camera (one of the first ones in Brooklyn, they have a bunch in Manahattan) because there was so much crime. There were 4 "daytime" burglaries in my building (a six unit complex) during the year I lived there, and (IMO) it was certainly one of my neighbors on the block who was doing it (because you need to know who is home, who is gone etc.)
I lived a block away from Maria Hernandez Park, formerly known as Bushwick Park. Maria Hernandez was a neighborhood activist in the late 80s who was trying to clean up the neigborhood, and drug dealers murdered her, shooting into her apartment from the street. She was in her 30s at the time.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=186During the New York City Blackout of 1977 Bushwick was looted and dozens of stores were burned down, the worst looting of any neighborhood in New York City I believe. If I remember right, the arson lasted for two weeks afterwards, with residential buildings being burned down as well. See wikipedia link, which is rather condensed and incomplete regarding the blackout and aftermath:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BushwickCharles Barron is not the city councilman for Bushwick, Diana Reyna is.
Anyway I am not an expert on Bushwick but I know Bushwick has a troubled history of poverty and crime. I wrote this without the benefit of coffee, and off the cuff. If anyone can correct me on anything I've said, those points would be well-taken.
I think this situation is complicated because while police harrassment is intolerable, so is gang violence and violent crime. There has to be a way to effectively address crime, without trampling on peoples' rights.
I don't understand why these people were held in lockup for 36 hours, that was excessive.