After Amadou Diallo was killed by four white police officers, Yvette Walton decided to speak out. She used to be the only Black woman patrolling the streets in the Street Crime Unit – the team responsible for shooting 41 bullets at the unarmed Black man.
After 25 years, she looks back at her story and helps us understand: Why did she decide to blow the whistle?
Two years after Amadou was killed, a local artist named Hulbert Waldroup was commissioned to create a mural honoring him on the street where he lived in the Bronx. But that’s not the mural you’ll see if you drive by today.
In this episode, Sara Braun and Dani Morera Trettin uncover the story behind the original mural, its controversial unveiling, and why eventually, a new mural replaced it 16 years later.
In 1999, four white police officers killed Amadou Diallo and were charged with murder. A year later, a jury found them not guilty. The trial took place in Albany — even though the killing happened in the Bronx. 24 years later, we wanted to know why the jury voted not guilty. Does justice mean something different depending on where you are?
In the 1980s and 90s, controversial City Councilperson Antonio Pagan was loved and hated by the Lower East Side. And while his political career was short-lived, his complicated legacy lives on. 35 years later, we want to know: was Antonio Pagan to blame for one of the worst police riots in New York City’s history?
Daniel Rakowitz would often wander around Tompkins Square park holding a Bible and carrying a live rooster. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him, or knew of him. In 1989 – Daniel would go on trial for the brutal and complicated murder of Monika Beerle. Turns out, he’d told people he was going to kill her. So, why didn’t anyone listen? This episode is “The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park.”