'Race-based' 911 calls now a
bias crime in NJ

By: Anthony Zurita
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... False "race-based" 911 calls can be charged as a bias crime after Governor Phil Murphy signed the legislation into law on Monday. [08/31/2020]
..... The bill is meant to criminalize the use of 911 to intimidate or harass people of color and others who may be discriminated against, Murphy said in a statement.
..... "Using the threat of a 9-1-1 call or police report as an intimidation tactic against people of color is an unacceptable, abhorrent form of discrimination," Murphy said. "This irresponsible misuse of our 9-1-1 system places victims in a potentially dangerous situation, and can erode trust between Black and Brown New Jerseyans and law enforcement.
..... In late June, [2020] a Black Montclair couple said a neighbor had harassed them by questioning whether they had a proper permit to install a stone patio. the husband, Fareed Nassor Hayat, said the neighbor, a white woman, falsely told police that he assaulted her after she went on his property three times in 30 minutes to question him about the permit.
.... The couple posted a video - which garnered nearly 1 million views of Facebook - in which the neighbor was accusing Hayat of pushing her and calling for a police officer. Neighbors in the video defended Hayat, saying the neighbor was not pushed.
..... Hayat, an attorney and law professor of the City University of New York, and his wife, Norrinda Brown Hayat, who is also an attorney, said the woman had been harassing them for two years.
.... The video came about a month after a similar video in May in which a white woman named Amy cooper clalied the NYPD doubt a Black man, who was birding in Central Park, after he asked her to leash her dog.
..... Cooper falsely claimed that "an African American man" was threatening her.
..... The legislation amends existing state statute against certain a false creating alarm.
..... "Not only is falsely calling 911 a form of intimidation against people of color that places its victims in danger, it interferes with 911 emergency operators trying to save lives and puts law enforcement at risk," Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. "This law demonstrates New Jersey takes addressing racial bias incidents seriously."

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