Reporter Fired After Filing Racial Profiling Suit
Blair talks about his experience on this video posted on YouTube.
Just days after freelance crime reporter Leonardo Blair filed a federal racial profiling suit against the New York City Police Department, the New York Post cut off ties to him.
The 28-year-old Jamaican-born reporter had been writing for the Post for almost a year, the New York Daily News reports.
Blair’s lawsuit stems from an incident in which he, while on his way home, was stopped by police, frisked and arrested. Blair, who has a masters in journalism from Columbia, wrote about the incident, including his initial mouthy exchange with one of the officers, for the Post in a December article entitled, “My Crime? Fitting the Profile.” While he initially was cited by police, a judge later dismissed the charges. Blair is a named plaintiff in a suit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The Daily News notes that Blair’s May 7 suit (PDF) was filed on the same day that the Post ran an editorial defending the police department’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy.
More online:
NYPD Charges Dropped Against Reporter (National Public Radio)
New York Post Reporter Leonardo Blair Stopped & Frisked (YouTube via New York Civil Liberties Union)
NYCLU Sues City, NYPD on Behalf of New York Post Reporter Subjected to Racial Profiling (NYCLU)
Hat tip to Romenesko.
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