To protect their neighborhoods against police violence, Cop Watch groups in the U.S. patrol and document police activity, hoping to abate the harassment.

By Jelle Bruinsma. Published 8-29-2015 at ROAR Magazine

In a period of 10 minutes, we saw the same police car stop three vehicles. Each time we’d walk up with our cameras and phones held out; the cops would put on their best smile, get back in the car, circle the block, go back to the same spot hidden behind a wall, and stop the next car passing by.

They weren’t the exception: in this poverty-stricken Brooklyn neighborhood siren lights are pervasive on any given night. Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy, as it is commonly known) is one of the many New York neighborhoods where a Cop Watch group patrols the streets, encouraged and cheered on by local residents. Continue reading →