New York City’s violent crime rate has dropped precipitously in the last decade; in 2006, there were 7.3 murders recorded per 100,000 residents–down from 30.7 in 1990. But despite a lower crime rate, the number of fatal shootings of civilians has remained steady. Even more perplexing, the number of bullets fired by the NYPD increased dramatically from 2004 to 2005, according to a copy of the 2005 Firearm Discharge Report. In 2005, cops fired 616 bullets, in contrast to 352 the previous year. Though there is no clear explanation as to why this occurred, in the wake of the Sean Bell shooting, the NYPD hired the RAND Corporation to conduct a study of their firearm procedures and training, which will be published in the fall.

On May 18, 2007, an unarmed immigrant, Fermin Arzu, was fatally shot in the Bronx neighborhood of Longwood by an off-duty officer, Raphael Lora.

Arzu, a Honduran of African descent, crashed his vehicle at about 11:40 p.m. into a parked car near the home of Lora, who raced out in plainclothes, armed with a 9-millimeter Glock handgun. A source told The New York Times that Lora explained to investigators that he opened the driver’s side door of Arzu’s car and that Arzu was "completely irrational and unresponsive." According to the source, Lora stated that Arzu then tried to close the door and drive away. Lora was able to "partly" free himself but lost his footing and began to shoot, firing five rounds. An autopsy revealed that Arzu was killed by a bullet in his back, and a medical examiner determined that he had been legally drunk.

Police procedure generally prohibits officers from firing on moving vehicles, and a decision about whether the case will go to a grand jury is expected soon. Early accounts reported that Lora had seen Arzu reaching for the glove compartment, but no guns were found.

Under Giuliani, the NYPD was widely considered by activists to be an overtly racist institution, where cops could shoot at Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, 41 times and be cleared of all charges.

Yet the change in administration and a dramatic drop in crime have not meant a decrease in the number of people killed each year by the NYPD, and the victims continue to be overwhelmingly people of color. At the same time that the city has become safer, the number of bullets fired by officers has skyrocketed. And during the Bloomberg administration, just as during Giuliani’s, when unarmed individuals are killed, such as in the cases of Stansbury and Zongo, police have suffered only the mildest of consequences.

The crux of the problem, says Jones-Brown, isn’t one administration or the other, but something that runs much deeper–our nation’s ingrained feelings regarding race. "In our country, we have a notion of the criminally dangerous minority," she says. "Criminals are young, Black and male."

"Take someone like Sean Bell," she continues. "Most bachelors have a party before their wedding. Most young men at these parties will drink ’til they’re blind out of their mind. But do white kids at bachelor’s parties get killed by cops? Can you imagine what would happen if cops had fired 50 bullets into a car of unarmed whites?"
"As a Black parent and citizen, if you see that this type of behavior can be excused…let’s just say, I don’t want to live in that America. Police are here, above all else, to preserve life. Policing is a public service job. We are not at war."