New Sunset Park Mural Urges Locals to Watch for Police Abuse

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — "Proteja Su Comunidad," the mural reads. "Grabe a la Policia." The translation: "Protect your community. Film the police."

The new, colorful mural at the corner of 5th Ave. and 44th Street in Sunset Park is the work of local artist Angel Garcia, 22, who said he has lived in Sunset park since he was a child.

The piece combines symbolic elements — hands, shaped as birds, break free from handcuffs — and lists the rights individuals have when stopped or questioned by the police, written in both English and Spanish.

Among them: you don't have to open the door to let in police or immigration officials without a warrant; you can tell the police that you don't consent to a search; and you should ask for a lawyer if you are detained.

Garcia said the he based the piece on images and ideas from several workshops held with students from Sunset Park High School and hosted by Cop Watch NYC, an activist group that tracks what it labels as illegal police behavior. Garcia said his sister is involved with the group, which is how he came to be tapped for the project. (The mural was not an official Sunset Park High School activity, he clarified.)

Sunset Park is patrolled by the NYPD's 72nd Precinct, which is now employing the department's community policing model. The official goal of the program — which dedicates two offers full-time to each of four quadrants in the precinct — is to improve police-community relations, reducing crime in the process.

Just this week, precinct Captain Emmanuel Gonzalez credited community policing with a 20 percent reduction in crime since April, when the program was implemented.

Garcia said he personally hasn't had any negative interactions with police officers, but added that the national conversation surrounding law enforcement makes him think that "people don't feel safe with police anymore."

"If you're an immigrant, there's that extra bit of fear and uncertainty," Garcia said, explaining the challenge facing those whose lack of English further distances them from police.

However, Garcia also said that police-community relations is "a difficult issue to navigate." He said his work was "not a very aggressive mural," explaining that his message wasn't "down with all cops."

He said he imagined that police could interpret it as critical of their efforts, or as a piece that informs people of their legal rights, which is a good thing.

"Sometimes you don't have to take sides," he said. Public art, he continued, can simply be "informative."

Garcia said that in the weeks ahead, he plans to expand the mural so that it also lists rights in Chinese, Arabic and other languages spoken by Sunset Parkers.

Pictured at top: Angel Garcia in front of his mural. Photos by John V. Santore