Nearly all social distancing arrests in Brooklyn were people of color, data show

Almost all of the people arrested on charges of violating social distancing in Brooklyn have been black or Hispanic, according to data released by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

The office released statistics on Thursday on social distancing arrests in the borough, showing police arrested 40 people between March 17 and May 4, The New York Times reported. Of the arrests, 35 were black, four were Hispanic, and one was white, according to the outlet.

“More than a third of the arrests were made in the predominantly black neighborhood of Brownsville,” the Times said.

Citywide, there were 120 arrests and nearly 500 summonses between March 16 and May 5, according to data provided to The New York Times. Black people comprise 68% of those arrested, and Hispanic people were 24%, said Richard Esposito, deputy police commissioner.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reacted to the racial disparities in arrests on Twitter.

“Saving lives in this pandemic is job one,” de Blasio tweeted. “The NYPD uses summonses and arrests to do it. Most people practice social distancing, with only hundreds of summonses issued over 6 weeks. But the disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values. We HAVE TO do better and we WILL.”

Data released on Friday showed that summonses for violating social distancing were also issued mostly to people of color, CNN reported. Out of the 374 summonses issued from March 16 to May 5, 193 were black and 111 were Hispanic, according to the NYPD.

“When I saw those numbers I found them to be an indicator that something’s wrong and we need to fix it. And we will fix it,” de Blasio said at a press conference on Friday, according to CNN.

Brooklyn’s racial makeup was 49.5% white, 35.8% black, 11.3% Asian, and 19.8% Latino of any race in the 2010 Census, according to World Population Review.

The Brooklyn district attorney has also opened an investigation into allegations of excessive force after a video went viral showing a 15-year-old being restrained by police in East New York, CBS New York reported. He was allegedly part of a group that wasn’t social distancing, the outlet reported.

Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez is investigating whether the arrest will mean charges or discipline for the police involved, CBS New York reported.

This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Nearly all social distancing arrests in Brooklyn were people of color, data show."