1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,720 Speaker 1: Hey, it's Chinjirai Kumanika, host of the new limited series 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: Empire City, the Untold Origin Story of the NYPD. I'm 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: excited to share episode one with you. It's been over 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: a decade since the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement, 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: yet time and time again we see stories of police 6 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: brutality and corruption in the news that it fueled the 7 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: debate on where policing is going and what public safety 8 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: looks like in America. But to truly understand where we're headed, first, 9 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: we need to figure out where we began. From wondery, 10 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: crooked media, and push black. Empire City takes you on 11 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: a journey through the complicated and largely invisible history of policing, 12 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling 13 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step 14 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:46,639 Speaker 1: of the way. If you love the show as much 15 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: as I hope you do, you can hear episode two 16 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 1: right now by following Empire City on the Wondery app 17 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: or your favorite podcast platform. If you can't get enough, 18 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: you can also hear the first four episodes early in 19 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: ad free on Wondry Plus right now now through the 20 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: wundery app on Apple Podcasts. The other day, I was 21 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: hanging with my four year old daughter and Yola in 22 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: the playground. She climbed nine feet into the air on 23 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: a jungle gym and then out of nowhere, she just 24 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: jumped into my arms. She didn't warm me because she 25 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: knew I was going to catch her. And when I 26 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: was growing up, I knew the same thing about my 27 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,639 Speaker 1: folks that even when I went out on a limb, 28 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: they had my back and they always would. So thirty 29 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: years ago, when I got a phone call telling me 30 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: that my dad had died, suddenly the world felt a 31 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: lot less safe. I have a lot of pictures of 32 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: my dad, including one I keep on my desk. He's 33 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: standing with his arm around me, looking right at the camera, 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: as if to say, anybody that wants to mess with 35 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: my son has to go through me. But sometimes I 36 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: wish I could unfreeze that image because I've never seen 37 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: a video of him until now. The footage is from 38 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four. There's no audio. It's black and white, 39 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 1: but surprisingly clear. He's thirty one years old. That's younger 40 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: than I ever saw, But there he is my dad, 41 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: A black man about six feet tall, wearing a dark 42 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: fitted suit and a skinny tie. He looks like me. 43 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: He's moving, interacting with others. He's alive. I want him 44 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: to walk out of the screen, hug him. But the 45 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: more I watch, the more I feel confused and angry 46 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: because this video is surveillance footage shot by a counterintelligence 47 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: unit of the New York Police Department Back in the 48 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties. My dad was a civil rights organizer working 49 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: for the Congress of Racial Equality, and in March of 50 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, they led a peaceful protest against police brutality. 51 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: He and other activists handcuffed themselves inside police headquarters in 52 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: Lower Manhattan in minutes after the NYPD's camera shut off. 53 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: My dad was arrested. Nine days later, the police Commissioner 54 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: addressed the incident publicly in an annual NYPD breakfast in 55 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: front of six thousand officers. He warned that he protected 56 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: the city against violence and racial extremists. The room erupted 57 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: in thunderous applause. Then he identified three individuals that he 58 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: said had sinister motives and a lust for power. The 59 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: first was Malcolm X. The second was a man named 60 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: Jesse Gray, who had led Rench strikes in Harlem, and 61 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: the third was my dad, Ma Kazu Kumanika. The NYPD 62 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: says its mission is to enhance the quality of life 63 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: in New York City by working in partnership with the community. 64 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: But that's exactly what my dad was doing. He dedicated 65 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: his life to improving the lives of the most vulnerable 66 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: people in New York. He protested racial discrimination in hiring, 67 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: worked to desegregate schools, and fought police brutality. In other words, 68 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: he was doing the right thing and for that they 69 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: called them an enemy and arrested him. Who were they 70 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: protecting when they did that? Definitely not him, the community, 71 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: work for me or even you. The second half of 72 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: the NYPD stated mission to the law to preserve peace, 73 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: to protect people, to maintain all day. But I keep 74 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: trying to understand when maintaining order was the police keeping 75 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: us safe, because to me and a lot of other 76 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: New Yorkers, that mission doesn't sound anything like our experience 77 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: with the NYPD. We usually see the police show up 78 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 1: after the harm has happened, and then they treat everybody 79 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: that looks like me like a criminal. And it's not 80 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: just that. Back in the day when women and black 81 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,679 Speaker 1: folks were marching in the streets for the right to vote, 82 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: it was the police who took them to jail. And 83 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: when steel workers went on striking Chicago, it was the 84 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: police that shot them. When powerful people wanted to deny rights, 85 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: they used the police to do it to maintain order. 86 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 1: The way the police deal with the inconvenient peace, the 87 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: dangerous people who are fighting to make America a real democracy. 88 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: That's the story that's been hidden in plain sight. I 89 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: wish I could tell you that my dad's story was 90 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: an exception, But once you know where to look, start 91 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: to see stories like this everywhere. At a time when 92 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: we're debating where policing is going, We're gonna tell you 93 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: where the police came from. We're gonna go back and 94 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: uncover the untold origin story of the largest and most 95 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: infamous police department in the world, the NYPD. From wondery 96 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: and crooked media, I'm Chinjeri Kumanika and this is Empire City, 97 00:06:41,200 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: Episode one. Then keep people safe. 98 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 2: Every single person in the US thinks the police have 99 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 2: always been here. It's like, no, it hasn't always been 100 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 2: like this, and it also won't always be like this. 101 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 2: Things change on a. 102 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: Cold February morning. Educator and organizer Mariam Kabba is taking 103 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: me on a tour of Lower Manhattan. She's helping me 104 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: understand what things were like when the NYPD first started 105 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: becoming what it is today. 106 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 2: This location that we're in is the corner of Broadway 107 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 2: and Portland. 108 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: We walked past a lot of cops, and Mariamkabba says, 109 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: if we saw what passed for law enforcement back then, 110 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: we wouldn't even recognize them. Think of what you picture 111 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: when we talk about police today, badges, uniforms, guns, cars, 112 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: walkie talkies. New York's earliest cops didn't have any of that. 113 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: The first police in New York City were set up 114 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: its first colonizers, the Dutch, and what they had were 115 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: green lanterns and hand rattles to sound the alarm, because 116 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: nothing says respect my authority like a hand rattle. 117 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 2: And then the English who took over here and then 118 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 2: built Fort George. 119 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: Here about early eighteen hundreds. The Ratler dudes are long gone, 120 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: and in their place we've got constables and watchmen. They 121 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: spend most of their time doing things like ring bells 122 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: and telling you what time it is. 123 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 2: I always tell people when they come to New York 124 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 2: City and they see this city in the way that 125 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 2: it's built right now, that in the early nineteenth century, 126 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 2: New York was a small town. 127 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: The further we walk, the more I can imagine old 128 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: New York, long blocks of wooden buildings. There are horses 129 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: and carriages bricking cobblestone streets. Rats well, I mean the 130 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: rats are still here. There's no sewage system, so filled 131 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: with a stink that never really dissipates, and there's lots 132 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: of riots. It feels like every week a fight on 133 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: a street corner escalates into a neighborhood brawl. Because every 134 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: day there's more and more people pouring into New York, 135 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: including a growing number of black folks. 136 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 2: It was hard to, I think, escape that, And I 137 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 2: think if you don't understand New York as a small town, 138 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 2: it's hard to understand other things about New York, like. 139 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: How it's not always clear who to call when you 140 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: feel like you're in danger. So let me tell you 141 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: about this free black woman named Miss Brown. She's hanging 142 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: in the house doing laundry when she hears a knock 143 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: on the door. She opens it and a black man 144 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: introduces himself. His name is John Hill. He says they're related, 145 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: that he's our uncle and he needs a place to crash. 146 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,439 Speaker 1: At first, Miss Brown's not sure if she recognizes him. 147 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: For a while, he does start to look familiar, so 148 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: she and her husband say you good brother. Come on in. 149 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: One evening, John Hill tells Miss Brown, I'm going out 150 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: for a walk, but I don't really know this area. 151 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: Can you come with me? I imagine him heading out 152 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 1: kicking it. Two black folks enjoying conversation. That's until out 153 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: of the corner of her eye, Miss Brown catches a 154 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 1: white man coming up behind her. Before she can get 155 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: out of the way, the man grabs for He's trying 156 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: the kidnap her, and Miss Brown is fighting back, but 157 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: a so called uncle John Hill, he leaves her in 158 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: the arms of the kidnappers. When her neighbors run up 159 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: to see what's going on, they try to wrench Miss 160 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: Brown free, but the kidnapper has back up and Miss 161 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: Brown is dragged away down the street. Everybody on the 162 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: block here's her screams. The story of Miss Brown is 163 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: like folklore, and the details vary in different accounts, but 164 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: what we do know is that John Hill was offered 165 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: money by a white man to lure Miss Brown into 166 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: the kidnapping trap, so these men could send her into 167 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: slavery in the South. What would you do if you 168 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: saw someone taking your neighbor away against their will? Would 169 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: you call the police? The people who saw Miss Brown's 170 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: kidnapping wouldn't because the white man snatching a free black 171 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: woman off the street is a police officer named Tobias Budno. 172 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 2: Police officers like Tobias Budeno boasted that they could arrest 173 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,319 Speaker 2: and send back any black quote unquote to the South. 174 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,319 Speaker 1: Before I started this journey, I never heard it Bias 175 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: Budeno or police in the Free State in New York 176 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 1: being involved in slavery. 177 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 2: These motherfuckers are taking people off the street, doesn't matter 178 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 2: if you're you know, a self emancipated by person, or 179 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 2: if you're. 180 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 3: Free or what. 181 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 2: They're just sending people back to the South, kidnapping them. 182 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 1: But the more you look, the more you run into 183 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: his name. 184 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 4: I kept reading about kind of this nefarious, mysterious character 185 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 4: by the name of Tobias Budino. 186 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: Historian John Wells kept finding that name while he was 187 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: researching early policing in New York. 188 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,319 Speaker 4: He is a police constable who sort of represents that 189 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 4: part of his community that wants to keep black people 190 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 4: in check, you know. I mean, he's a very violent 191 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:44,480 Speaker 4: and vile human being. 192 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: And it's not just the Budno is racist. He's also broke. 193 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: He's in his late twenties living in an apartment with 194 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: his wife and kid in Lower Manhattan and being a 195 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: constable doesn't pay enough. 196 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 4: I mean the pay was extremely meager. His spouse would 197 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 4: not have had a job right. So he has a 198 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 4: lot of weight on his shoulders. 199 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: He doesn't have a shiny badge pin to his shirt, 200 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: and like Rodney Dangerfield, he doesn't get any respect. 201 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 4: They have long hours, there's low morale, they're poorly trained, 202 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 4: and so there is every incentive in the world for 203 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 4: them to look for ways to enhance their income. 204 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: And Budino is always using his position to hustle up 205 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: some scratch. 206 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 5: The police constables were like entrepreneurs. 207 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: Historian Wilburd Miller says the police in the nineteenth century 208 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: didn't walk in a sign beat like we think of today. 209 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 5: They were reactive police. 210 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 1: That means Budno isn't preventing crime. He has to wait 211 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: until something happens for example. 212 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,839 Speaker 5: You were knocked down in the street. You knew who didn't. 213 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 5: You go to the court and engage the services of 214 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 5: a constable who for a fee he would get out 215 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:02,839 Speaker 5: a warrant and make their rest. 216 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: So when the crime happens, it's bad for you, but 217 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: for Bodeno it's an opportunity. 218 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:12,199 Speaker 5: So somebody scales your gold watch, you go to the court, 219 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 5: you talk to the constable, and they really know the underworld, right, 220 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 5: So it worked out that you get part of the value, 221 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 5: the constable will get part of the value, and the 222 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 5: thief would be free from arrest or might even get 223 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 5: a little bit of the value himself. It's called compounding 224 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 5: a felony. You're contributing to the crime itself. Right. That 225 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 5: seems crazy, It seems crazy, but that was the system. 226 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 1: Like they have an incentive in a way to keep 227 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: crime going. 228 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 5: Yes, exactly, they have an investment in crime. 229 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: But even though Budeno's making a little cash here and there, 230 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: his money problems are only getting worse. 231 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 4: His landlord comes and takes his furniture out of his 232 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 4: apartment because he hasn't been able to pay his rent. 233 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: And if sitting on the floor of an empty apartment 234 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: isn't humiliating enough. Newspapers are circulating lists of people who 235 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: bankrupt for being sued for not paying debts, and the 236 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: fact that Budeno's are constable doesn't stop them from putting 237 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: his business out there. But his Boudino is panicking. What 238 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: he doesn't know is that something big is about to 239 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: go down. It's going to change everything for him in 240 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: his money situation. But it doesn't start in New York. 241 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: It starts in Virginia. 242 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 4: A dozen or so enslaved people decide to leave Norfolk, 243 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 4: Virginia to escape from bondage. 244 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: They want to get to a state in the north 245 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: where slavery has been abolished. So this group of black 246 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: fugitives in the South manages to steal a boat late 247 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: one night. Seventeen of them squeeze themselves on board and 248 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 1: head north to New York. After a few quiet days 249 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: at sea, their boat floats into New York City. Some 250 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: of the folks on board must feel like they made it, 251 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: that they're finally safe, but it's not that simple. 252 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 4: Their ability to secretly make their way up the coast 253 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 4: of the Northeast sets an incredible complicated set of patterns in. 254 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: Motion Virginia's governor hears about the escape, and he's infuriated, 255 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: so he taps into his allies up north. He writes 256 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: to New York's governor and basically says, can you help 257 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: us get our slaves back? Before the Thirteenth Amendment ends 258 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: most slavery in eighteen sixty five, northern states are obliged 259 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: to return the slave people to the South if they 260 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: catch him. So New York has Virginia's back. The governor 261 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: agrees to recapture the fugitives. He just needs to find 262 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: someone to track him down and bring them in, and 263 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: a broken, desperate constable like Tobias Budno seems like the 264 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: perfect man to get the I've done. The Governor of 265 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: New York hands Budeno a warrant. 266 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 4: And it essentially says, you know these people. I have 267 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 4: charged Constable Budino with finding. 268 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: But this isn't a regular arrest warrant. This is called 269 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: a blanket writ which gives Budeno the legal right to 270 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: arrest any black person in the state that he suspects 271 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: of being a fugitive. And it goes way beyond just 272 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 1: the seventeen fugitives who escape Virginia. 273 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 4: In every newspaper across the country. There are advertisements, you know, 274 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 4: these ads that say, you know, she ran away from 275 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 4: my Virginia farm five years ago. You know, anybody who 276 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,479 Speaker 4: can give me information on her whereabouts, I will reward 277 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 4: them with twenty five dollars or one hundred dollars. 278 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: This warrant is a golden ticket. Finally, in answer to 279 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: his money problems. 280 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 4: Budno has pretty much, you know, got carte blanche to 281 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 4: arrest people, collect reward money, and he protects that piece 282 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 4: of paper with his life. He guards it with his life, 283 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 4: keeps it in his hat, he can keeps it in 284 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 4: his vest pocket. 285 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,479 Speaker 1: So basically, this white cop has a piece of paper 286 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: that makes him look at any black person has potential 287 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: money in his pocket. And it's this paper that gives 288 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: Budenou and constables like him carte blanche to kidnap a 289 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: free woman like miss Brown. But before Budnou can sell 290 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: someone into slavery and get his cut, he has to 291 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: drag him in the court, stand in front of the 292 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:28,160 Speaker 1: bench and provide evidence that they're actually a fugitive. Tragically, 293 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: this isn't hard because the judge who handles most of 294 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: these cases is the city recorder, Richard Riker. That name 295 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: might sound familiar, this was before Riker's Island existed. A 296 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,440 Speaker 1: recorder Riker is part of the same family that owned 297 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: the land the notorious and deadly jail was built on. 298 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:50,120 Speaker 4: Riker would declare that person to be the self emancipated runaway, 299 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 4: and within hours that person was sent to the South. 300 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: He's a racist with connections to the folks that run 301 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 1: southern plantations, and he makes it clear the quote we 302 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: northern judges, damn the abolitionists. And in this case, it 303 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: turns out that a slave owner is claiming that Miss 304 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,360 Speaker 1: Brown is his property. And so when a rest by 305 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: constable who stands to get paid and acclaimed by a 306 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: slave owner, are enough evidence and Miss Brown is sent 307 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:23,160 Speaker 1: South into slavery. But Budno isn't just selling black folks 308 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: into slavery because he's a racist, even though he was. 309 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: And it's not because he had bad training. He didn't 310 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 1: have any kind of training. It's because of the Cashie 311 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 1: stands to make the real story that's hidden when we 312 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 1: write off Budno was a know nothing racist cop, is 313 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 1: that there's a whole network of people from slave owners 314 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: in the South to their business partners in Virginia, New 315 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,120 Speaker 1: York making money off these sales, and no matter whether 316 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: a state calls itself a free state or a slave state, 317 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: was good for their wallets. Is the real law. 318 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 4: There's nobody in the legal system taking recons possibility for 319 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 4: their actions. Within the police force, within the legal community, 320 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 4: there's nobody telling budinot At that they shouldn't be doing this. 321 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: And part of the reason no one's telling Budeno to 322 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: stop is that a lot of white New Yorkers aren't 323 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: comfortable with their free black neighbors. Some of them see 324 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:18,640 Speaker 1: free blacks as competition for jobs, a threat to their 325 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: economic safety that these police constables can handle for them. 326 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: That entrenched racism, combined with the opportunity to make money, 327 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 1: makes it easy for Budeno to recruit other police into 328 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: his network of kidnappers, and the kidnapping business starts to boom. 329 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: But inside houses, churches and abolitionist meetings, New York's black 330 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,719 Speaker 1: community is quickly catching up to what's going on, and 331 00:20:43,800 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: one man is about to take his gloves off. I'm 332 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: back on the streets of Manhattan with marry him Caba, 333 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:09,159 Speaker 1: and she's telling me that she started doing tours for 334 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: her friends when they would come to New York, visiting 335 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: all the standard attractions. But it didn't take long for 336 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 1: her to get tired of that because she felt like 337 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: it was giving them a whitewashed version of the city's history. 338 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 6: It was super. 339 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 2: Interested in, like black life, like what was going on 340 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 2: with black people here. So over time I started kind 341 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 2: of like stopping doing the stupid tours that I were 342 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 2: like the Okay, we'll go to the you know, we'll 343 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 2: go to the statu of Liberty or the Empire. Say, 344 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:40,359 Speaker 2: We'll go to all these places, but I'm also going 345 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 2: to throw in some black shit. 346 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: That was basically the bottom line, And that's how we 347 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,919 Speaker 1: ended up standing next to a glass skyscraper that was 348 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,679 Speaker 1: once the epicenter of New York City's abolitionist movement. This 349 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 1: corner used to be home to a bookstore owned by 350 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:59,359 Speaker 1: a man named David Ruggles. Everyone's heard of Frederick Douglas 351 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: and his career he just escaped, but Ruggles was the 352 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 1: man who helped him when he first arrived in New 353 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 1: York fresh out of slavery. Ruggles gives him a place 354 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: to stay in food his bookstores to stop on the 355 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: underground railroad. And Frederick Douglass is just one of the 356 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: many black folks that Ruggle supports. 357 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:19,399 Speaker 2: And he's the person who basically, in my opinion, embodied 358 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 2: the first full time black activist in New York. 359 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: And one thing about David Ruggles that inspires Mariam Caaba 360 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 1: is his philosophy of practical abolition. 361 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 2: He believed that you did what you needed to do 362 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 2: for your people, and that as human beings, it's really 363 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 2: really important for us not to be subject to listening 364 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 2: to people tell us that we're going to eventually get free. 365 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 2: That the notion of gradual freedom was bullshak. 366 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 1: Ruggle says that we need freedom now, this instant. And 367 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: one reason why gradual incremental freedom isn't enough for the 368 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:55,879 Speaker 1: black folks that are fighting Tobias Budno and his crew 369 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,360 Speaker 1: is that for them, the hard is of slavery aren't theoretical, 370 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: and lived experiences is real and brutal as a whip 371 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: tearing into your flesh. Remember miss Brown, after a judge 372 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 1: upholds her kidnapping, she sold into slavery and desperately tries 373 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: to get free again. I hope she did, but I 374 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: also know that's probably not what happened. We have one 375 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,879 Speaker 1: letter she wrote trying to find her mother, pleading for 376 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: her to send her free papers, and then we don't 377 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: know anything else. Now, let's be clear, Miss Brown was 378 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: living a full life as a black woman in New York, 379 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,640 Speaker 1: and because of a police officer, her freedom and even 380 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: our record of her future is erased. Her capture is 381 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: exactly the kind of thing Ruggles is fighting against. And 382 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: he doesn't wait for something to happen. He goes on 383 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: patrol to find leads. 384 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 2: So he goes and he goes on to the docks, 385 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 2: and he will sometimes disarrest people that have been stolen 386 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 2: off the docks. He carried a gun easily because he 387 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:09,399 Speaker 2: was like, these people are trying to kill me. 388 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 1: And talking with community members, one night he gets a tip. 389 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 4: Ruggles finds out that there's a possibility that a family 390 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 4: in Brooklyn, right in the heart of Brooklyn, are in 391 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:25,000 Speaker 4: fact holding three people as slaves. 392 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: And without waiting a second, Ruggles puts on his coat 393 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 1: and heads to Brooklyn. 394 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 4: He goes to the front door of this family that 395 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 4: the patriarch is not there, but his wife is there, 396 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 4: and she says, you know, basically what do you want? 397 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 4: And he says, I hear that you're holding people here 398 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 4: as slaves, a contrary to the laws of the state 399 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 4: of New York. And then before she can really answer, 400 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 4: he hears the people in the basement. 401 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: They're crying out, we're here, We're here. 402 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 4: The lady of the house says, these three are servants. 403 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 1: And then she tries to prove that the black folks 404 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: being held captive in her house are paid workers. 405 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 4: And she says to one of the enslaved people, isn't 406 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 4: that true, And the woman says, I've never received a 407 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 4: penny in payment. The only thing you do is you 408 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 4: hit us about the head and order us around, and 409 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 4: you keep us as your property. 410 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,199 Speaker 1: Looking at this white woman who's holding enslaved people in 411 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: line straight to his face, Ruggles is furious. He tells 412 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: the three enslaved people, y'all coming with me. 413 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 4: I mean he is literally saving people from slavery on 414 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 4: a weekly basis in New York City. 415 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: I mean, that's bold. Even though that's the law, that's 416 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: still bold. 417 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 4: He was very bold. 418 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:50,120 Speaker 1: He co founds a group of anti slavery activists. 419 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,080 Speaker 2: Ruggles started the New York Committee of Vigilance and the 420 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:57,439 Speaker 2: New York Committee of Vigilance became the institutionalized arm of 421 00:25:57,520 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 2: the Underground Railroad. 422 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: Women in the organization figure out how to get over 423 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: a thousand people to donate a penny a week, and 424 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: that translates into some real money. Now the Committee of 425 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: Vigilance can get to work. 426 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 2: They created their own community policing system because they knew 427 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 2: the cops weren't in on the act, and though they 428 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 2: were not expecting to have good relationships with Tobias Boudino, 429 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,920 Speaker 2: they knew that those were their enemies, that they were 430 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 2: trying to do something to them they did not want. 431 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: They say, if these folks are going to keep coming 432 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: after us, we'll start night watches in our own neighborhood 433 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: and we'll get some of the best abolitionist lawyers to 434 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,399 Speaker 1: face Judge Riker in court. And as a matter of fact, 435 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: why does Riker, one white man, get to decide whether 436 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: black folks get sent into slavery If we have to 437 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: go through their corrupt courts, Let's at least try to 438 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: get a jury of our peers to hear these cases. 439 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: And the whole time the Committee is fighting with those strategies, 440 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: Ruggles is also fighting with one of his most potent 441 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: weapons his pen. 442 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 2: He deeply understood the value of literature. He's your predecessor 443 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 2: around the notion that media makes a difference. 444 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: Ruggles was constantly writing in black newspapers. He published his 445 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: own periodical called The Mirror of Liberty, and in the 446 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 1: pages of the most widely circulated abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, 447 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 1: he spoke truth to power the most extraordinary samples of 448 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 1: human depravity that have disgraced our city with police officers 449 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:41,639 Speaker 1: and judges. We have not protection in law because the 450 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: legislators withhold justice, and that at this point we may 451 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: no longer depend on the anti slavery societies. We must 452 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: look to our own safety and protection from kidnappers, remembering 453 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: that self defense is the first law of nature. Rubbles 454 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: Rights are warning colored people beware. 455 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 3: A certain constable in this city is very active in 456 00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 3: entering the dwellings of colored people, pretending to have search 457 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:19,880 Speaker 3: warrants and ransacking their houses from cellar to garrett in 458 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 3: search of fugitives from slavery. 459 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,439 Speaker 1: He says, don't let anybody in your house unless you 460 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: know for sure they're your friends, and he coins a 461 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: term for budno in his gang, the Kidnapping Club. At 462 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: this point, Budno has to face facts. 463 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 4: Black people are not just gonna acquiesce and say, oh, okay, 464 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 4: you know, I know I'm innocent. You know, I'll just 465 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 4: come with you to prove my innocence At the police station. 466 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:54,720 Speaker 4: They are armed with knives. They are ready to kill. 467 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 4: It's a potent form of self defense, and they are 468 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 4: ready to defend them and their personal freedom whenever necessary. 469 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: So Budno decides to go directly after the most outspoken 470 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: voice of the resistance, David Ruggles. One night, the Kidnapping 471 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: Club pays a visit to Ruggles home with the warrant 472 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: for his arrest, but Ruggles is tipped off and he 473 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: sneaks out the back door. I know he had to 474 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: be relieved because he barely got out. 475 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 2: There were bounties placed on him. He was hated by 476 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 2: Wall Street, he was hated by the cops. The arsonists 477 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 2: were constantly bombing his house, like burning it down. He 478 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 2: would rebuild, he would move to new places, constantly just 479 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 2: set himself up. 480 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 1: But he's not about to go into hiding. The next day, 481 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: he marches down the city hall to confront the men 482 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 1: that have tried to arrest him. Budneau is waiting and 483 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 1: he pounces on Ruggles. He shoves him up against a 484 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,320 Speaker 1: marble pillar, trying to intimidate him. He says, I was 485 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: after you last night, and then Budino drags Ruggles into court. 486 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: Ruggles is charged with resisting arrests, but the Committee of 487 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: Vigilance organizes a quick defense. The charges don't stick, and 488 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 1: eventually he walks out of city Hall a freeman. 489 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 2: David Ruggles is one of my favorite people who I've 490 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 2: never gotten to meet, and I feel a kinship with 491 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 2: him on multiple levels. 492 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,200 Speaker 1: Mariam Kappa says she draws on the spirit of David 493 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: Ruggles and all the work she does. 494 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,680 Speaker 2: When I do defense campaign work, I think about him. 495 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 2: You know, my interest in publishing. I think about Ruggles, 496 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,959 Speaker 2: who predates that. When I'm out in the streets protesting, 497 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 2: I think about Ruggles and what he did so much 498 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 2: to make it possible for me to be here in 499 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:56,600 Speaker 2: this moment and do what I get to do. 500 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:59,920 Speaker 1: And like Ruggles, she made the risky decision to be 501 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 1: come an outspoken critic of the police. 502 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,600 Speaker 2: I'm definitely not in any way in the league of 503 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 2: danger that a Ruggles experienced on a day to day basis, 504 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,840 Speaker 2: But you're going to be at risk if you take 505 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 2: unpopular positions. You have to take precautions to try to 506 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,400 Speaker 2: be as safe as possible, but you also have to 507 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,000 Speaker 2: be completely aware of the fact that you're actually never 508 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 2: going to be safe. 509 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: And the Committee of Vigilance knew they weren't safe despite 510 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: all their organizing, fundraising, and advocacy. For two years after 511 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: Miss Brown has stolen off the street, the Kidnapping Club 512 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: is still going strong, and just a few months later, 513 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,760 Speaker 1: when the kidnappers snatch another Black New Yorker, they say, 514 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: we tried to do this peacefully. Now it's time to 515 00:31:51,560 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: try something else. With the kidnapping Club in full effect, 516 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: tensions are still high between police and Black New Yorkers, 517 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: but people who live in their lives as best they can. 518 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 1: On one spring day, a black man named William Dixon 519 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 1: wakes up early to get ready for work. Dixon is 520 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,520 Speaker 1: six feet tall, known in his community for his powerful 521 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,160 Speaker 1: presence and strong voice. He sings in his local church 522 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:42,360 Speaker 1: on Sundays, and during the week he works a variety 523 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: of our jobs. This morning, he's headed to a painting gig, 524 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: so he kisses his wife and heads out the door. 525 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,440 Speaker 1: Before he knows it, he's approached by none other than 526 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:54,400 Speaker 1: Tobias Budno. 527 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 4: Budno and other members of the Kidnapping Club arrested Dixon, 528 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 4: first telling him that he was accused of public drunkenness 529 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 4: or some kind of minor crime. 530 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: But of course that's not why they're really there. 531 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 4: He's a big guy, and they're afraid that if they 532 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 4: accuse of him of being a runaway that you know, 533 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,640 Speaker 4: he'll fight for his life. 534 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: Dixon's wife learns that her husband has been arrested. She 535 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,720 Speaker 1: runs to David Ruggles and the Committee of Vigilance for support. 536 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,960 Speaker 1: The clock is ticking. Tobias Budno is going to take 537 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 1: Dixon to stand before Richard Riker as soon as he can, and. 538 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:35,760 Speaker 4: The black community knows exactly what Riker's predisposition is. 539 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: Black New Yorkers have been through this before, but this 540 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,920 Speaker 1: time they catch a break. They have a full week 541 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: until Dixon is scheduled to appear in court. This gives 542 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: the community time to strategize. They gather witnesses who can 543 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: vouch for Dixon, and the day of the trial, they 544 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: roll up deep to Richard Riker's courthouse. Once they get there, 545 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: the usual playbook starts to unfold. Budino and his people 546 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 1: provide evidence to Dixon his property that he belongs to 547 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 1: someone in Baltimore, and that's when things pop off. A 548 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,160 Speaker 1: huge crowd of black folks bum rushes the front of 549 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:15,840 Speaker 1: the courthouse. 550 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:20,439 Speaker 4: Riker is completely bewildered about what's going on, and they 551 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:25,640 Speaker 4: manage to rest control over William Dixon, you know, from 552 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 4: the authorities, and take him out of the courthouse and 553 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 4: into the streets of New York. And then this whole 554 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,440 Speaker 4: melee rrupts. 555 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: Someone tosses a knife and a dagger to William Dixon, 556 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,719 Speaker 1: and after a struggle, he gets away. A judge in 557 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:42,800 Speaker 1: a courtroom nearby rushes out to see what's causing the commotion. 558 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,440 Speaker 1: Before he knows it, someone behind him grabs him by 559 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:46,879 Speaker 1: the neck. 560 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:51,160 Speaker 4: He's sort of man handled by a black woman you know, 561 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 4: who kicks him in the rear end. Yeah, exactly. That's 562 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:56,760 Speaker 4: the moment in which the audience cheers. 563 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,400 Speaker 1: The woman's name is Kaziah Manning, and records showed that 564 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,760 Speaker 1: she and a man named Jesse hold the judge down 565 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 1: while black folks beat him to a pulp. Another man 566 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:11,200 Speaker 1: grabs a whitewash brush and snaps it over the head 567 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: of a constable. Someone else jumps in and starts hitting 568 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:18,319 Speaker 1: that same officer. At that point, Tobias Budno realizes that 569 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,920 Speaker 1: the police have lost control, so he pulls out a 570 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,280 Speaker 1: gun and aims it at the guy pummeling his fellow officer. 571 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:34,160 Speaker 1: Everyone braces as Boudino squeezes the trigger, but nothing happens. 572 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:44,280 Speaker 1: The gun miraculously fails to go off. In the confusion, 573 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,279 Speaker 1: William Dixon gets away from the courthouse. He runs a 574 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,240 Speaker 1: few blocks, sees a basement on Dwayne Street and dives 575 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: into it. The Kidnapping Club sees him run away and 576 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 1: follows him. They scour the street until they find him, 577 00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:59,680 Speaker 1: and then they take him to prison. But there's no 578 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 1: way that the Committee of Vigilance is giving up. Over 579 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 1: the next few weeks, they keep fighting in court and 580 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:11,239 Speaker 1: raise bail money for Dixon's release. Four months after the 581 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,319 Speaker 1: black community struggled to free Dixon at the courthouse, the 582 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,880 Speaker 1: Committee of Vigilance gets a letter from David Ruggles. 583 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:20,960 Speaker 3: It is with regret that I make this letter a 584 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 3: substitute for my personal appearance. 585 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:26,919 Speaker 1: Time and all of his effort is taking its toll 586 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:27,279 Speaker 1: on him. 587 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:31,280 Speaker 3: Though declining health compelled me to retire from the city 588 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:35,759 Speaker 3: and take refuge in the country. My heart is with 589 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 3: you and the cause of freedom. Ruggles develops a chronic 590 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,440 Speaker 3: illness and leaves New York for Massachusetts to recover, but 591 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:48,160 Speaker 3: he knows folks are anxious about William Dixon. Dixon has 592 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 3: disappeared since being released on bail, and people want to 593 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 3: know what happened. So Ruggles shares one final detail about 594 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 3: Dixon to lift them arale and strengthen their resolve. He 595 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:03,800 Speaker 3: is not kidnapped by that gang of desperadoes which infest 596 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 3: our city, as has been reported. He has taken the 597 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 3: advice of his friends and retire it to the country. 598 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 3: William Dixon is free. The New York's black community has 599 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:22,839 Speaker 3: to face a harsh reality. As long as there's money 600 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 3: to be made from slavery, they're gonna be targeted by 601 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 3: the police. 602 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,799 Speaker 2: When people said that slavery was going to end, people 603 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:31,960 Speaker 2: thought they were bonkers. 604 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 1: People did people. This isn't natural. 605 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:37,560 Speaker 2: It's always been like this. 606 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: What do you mean? 607 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,640 Speaker 2: Black people can't integrate? They'n I smart, They don't know, 608 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:47,839 Speaker 2: they can't do and people are like, gotta end now, 609 00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:51,680 Speaker 2: gotta end now, not tenure now, we want it now, 610 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,680 Speaker 2: And ruggles in them were tarnished for that. They died 611 00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 2: for that, for that view. But you know what, the 612 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:03,080 Speaker 2: three of us are standing here today. We're here because 613 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 2: of all of that. That's my friend Sam. Hey, I Sam, 614 00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 2: I'm Sam. 615 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:19,719 Speaker 3: How you doing. 616 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:23,160 Speaker 1: On a warm Friday morning last spring, my daughter and 617 00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:28,160 Speaker 1: Yola and I met my producer Sam at Central Park. 618 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 2: And then we came to saying that that we came here, Yeah. 619 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,200 Speaker 1: Out to the park, right, Yeah. Central Park is one 620 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,920 Speaker 1: of my daughter's favorite places to visit in New York City. 621 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 1: When we're away from cars, surrounded by green grass, she 622 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:43,600 Speaker 1: can yell as loud as she wants and run as 623 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,080 Speaker 1: fast as she can. I can tell it makes her 624 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,040 Speaker 1: feel free early. 625 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,040 Speaker 2: By Joe May. 626 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:53,960 Speaker 1: But part of what I like to come to Central 627 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,960 Speaker 1: Park is that this land in Yola's running on was 628 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 1: once home to Seneca Village. In early nineteen sixy free 629 00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,400 Speaker 1: black settlement at a time when it wasn't remotely possible 630 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,359 Speaker 1: to rely on the police for protection, Black folks built 631 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,920 Speaker 1: a community on this land with schools, churches, and gardens 632 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:12,840 Speaker 1: that existed for thirty two years. 633 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:14,479 Speaker 3: What do you see over there? 634 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:19,600 Speaker 4: I fly out a flayo. 635 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,319 Speaker 1: When my daughter and I come here to play, we 636 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:25,920 Speaker 1: feel connected to that two hundred years of black history 637 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,799 Speaker 1: in New York, the radical possibility of freedom and community, 638 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,040 Speaker 1: a possibility my father fought to protect. Okay, what do 639 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:34,880 Speaker 1: you gotcastle? 640 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:39,720 Speaker 7: Noo? 641 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:44,680 Speaker 1: As I sit playing in the sandbox within Yola, I 642 00:39:44,719 --> 00:39:47,319 Speaker 1: see a police officer approaching the edge of the playground 643 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:52,520 Speaker 1: and my body instinctively stiffened. I look down and she's 644 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 1: still playing, completely carefree. Part of me wants to freeze 645 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:02,040 Speaker 1: her in this moment, but then something comes over me. 646 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,359 Speaker 1: The police are already a part of her world. I've 647 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:08,760 Speaker 1: seen them in the cartoons she watches and her toys. 648 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:11,759 Speaker 1: Then there are even cops at the school, and I 649 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,800 Speaker 1: start wondering what is she actually picking up from all that? 650 00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:21,960 Speaker 1: And Yola ask your question, what do you think? What 651 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: do you think the police do? She puts down her 652 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,840 Speaker 1: sand shovel and her eyes start back and forth, searching 653 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:33,000 Speaker 1: for the right answer. They can't. 654 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:35,040 Speaker 7: People say, I. 655 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,160 Speaker 1: Mean, that is what the police say their job is. 656 00:40:37,719 --> 00:40:40,120 Speaker 1: But when I hear her say it, I start to panic. 657 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:45,640 Speaker 7: They can't people say. 658 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,480 Speaker 1: As her father, part of me wishes I could just 659 00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:51,960 Speaker 1: leave the truth hidden and protect her innocence. I wish 660 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,280 Speaker 1: I could tell her that Tobias Buno and the kidnapping 661 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 1: club were just bad apples, and then after they faded out, 662 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,239 Speaker 1: New York's police grew into something that we all could 663 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:03,680 Speaker 1: rely on to protect us. But that's not what happened. 664 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:07,360 Speaker 1: I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle yet, 665 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:10,000 Speaker 1: but I did find another piece that gets me one 666 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,480 Speaker 1: step closer to understanding the NYPD as we know it today, 667 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:19,279 Speaker 1: and it starts with a murder. We'll get into that 668 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:30,400 Speaker 1: next time. This season on Empire City, the first person 669 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,080 Speaker 1: to use the term organized crime didn't mean it in 670 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:35,759 Speaker 1: the sense of donco Leone and the mafia. He meant 671 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:37,320 Speaker 1: it in terms of the police department. 672 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:43,200 Speaker 6: I mean police is the ground level occupying force of empire. 673 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:48,640 Speaker 6: Right an empire is only as powerful as their forces 674 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:49,879 Speaker 6: holding the weapons. 675 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:52,040 Speaker 4: They wanted me to write about the New York City 676 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,560 Speaker 4: Police Department, but without using the words violence or corruption, 677 00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:58,759 Speaker 4: which is effectively impossible. 678 00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:04,160 Speaker 7: There hasn't been violence and corruption. I would like everyone 679 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 7: in New York to know they shouldn't be fearing the police. 680 00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:12,200 Speaker 7: They should be revering the police for the job they do. 681 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: Way way, way, Headwind. Did you just get upset because 682 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 1: a black man didn't break the law? Wake up, bro, 683 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,719 Speaker 1: Remember who you are. What would you tell that younger 684 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:26,320 Speaker 1: side ten years ago? 685 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:29,800 Speaker 4: I would tell that poor, terrified, nineteen year old baby 686 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 4: that one day you will defeat the NYPD. 687 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,200 Speaker 5: The nightmare is going to end, bro, trust me. 688 00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:49,360 Speaker 1: Just hanging there. Empire City has made with a commitment 689 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:51,839 Speaker 1: to ensure that the stories of those who were and 690 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:55,480 Speaker 1: still are impacted by the NYPD are always part of 691 00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: the stories we tell ourselves about the police, about America, 692 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,560 Speaker 1: and about to mock. To learn more, go to Crooked 693 00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:05,880 Speaker 1: dot com, slash Empire City, or check out our show notes. 694 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:12,240 Speaker 1: Empire City is a production of Wondery and Crooked Media. 695 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:16,239 Speaker 1: I'm your host and executive producer cinjer Ya Kumanika for 696 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,960 Speaker 1: Crooked Media. Our senior producer is Peter Bresnan. Our managing 697 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,200 Speaker 1: producer is Leo Durant. Our senior story editor is Diane Honson. 698 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:28,399 Speaker 1: Our producer is Sam Riddell. Bowen Wong and Sidney Rapp 699 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:32,480 Speaker 1: are our associate producers. Sound design, mixing and original score 700 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:37,840 Speaker 1: by Axel Kokutier. Our historical consultant and fact checker is 701 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:43,040 Speaker 1: History Studios. Our voice actor is Demetrius Noble. For Wondery, 702 00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:47,400 Speaker 1: our senior producer is Mandy Gorenstein. Our senior story editor 703 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:52,120 Speaker 1: is Phyllis Fletcher. Our coordinating producer is Mariah Gossin. The 704 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:56,480 Speaker 1: executive producer at Push Black is Lily Werkne. Executive producers 705 00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:00,840 Speaker 1: at Crooked Media are Sarah Geismer, Katie long Tour, and 706 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:06,320 Speaker 1: Diane Hodson. Executive producers at Wondry are Nigerie Eaton, George Lavender, 707 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:22,200 Speaker 1: Marshall Louis, and Jen Sargent. You just heard the first 708 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:26,279 Speaker 1: episode of Empire City, the Untold Origin story of the NYPD. 709 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:29,359 Speaker 1: Thanks for checking it out. You can hear episode two 710 00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:32,359 Speaker 1: right now by following Empire City on the Wondery app 711 00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:35,759 Speaker 1: or your favorite podcast platform, And if you can't get enough, 712 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,640 Speaker 1: you can also hear the first four episodes early in 713 00:44:38,719 --> 00:44:41,840 Speaker 1: ad free on Wondry Plus right now through the Wondery 714 00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:43,480 Speaker 1: app on Apple Podcasts