Video advocating cop-killing includes appearances by two lawyers with Bronx Defenders
Two lawyers for a New York City-funded legal services group appeared in a rap video promoting the killing of police officers, a report by city investigators has found.
The two lawyers for Bronx Defenders knew the video would feature rap lyrics endorsing violence against officers, according to the report. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the New York Daily News and Reuters covered the findings.
One of the lawyers, Ryan Napoli, wrote to the other lawyer, Kumar Rao, expressing reservations about an obscenity in the song after reviewing the lyrics, the report (PDF) said. Otherwise he appeared to have no misgivings. “I love this song,” he wrote.
The “Hands Up” rap video, posted on YouTube and WorldStarHipHop in December, advocates retribution for police shootings of unarmed black men. “For Mike Brown and Sean Bell, a cop got to get killed. Cause I’m black, police think they got the right to shoot me,” the lyrics say. “Time to start killing these coppers.”
The two lawyers are shown counseling clients in the video, part of which was recorded in the Bronx Defenders office.
The report found that the executive director of Bronx Defenders, Robin Steinberg, OK’d involvement of her group and initially misled city officials about it. At first, the Bronx Defenders was listed as a sponsor of the video, but the reference has since been removed.
Steinberg told investigators she thought the video was about police brutality and wasn’t aware of the endorsement of violence, while Napoli and Rao said they thought they would be able to edit the video before its release.
Bronx Defenders receives about $20 million a year in New York City funds to represent indigent defendants and provide family court services. The group posted this statement on its website: “The Bronx Defenders abhors the use of violence against the police under any circumstance. We have always been an organization that is committed to preserving life, dignity and respect for all people.
“The Bronx Defenders never approved the music video ‘Hands Up,’ and never saw it before it went online. We deeply regret any involvement with this video.”
Updated on Feb. 9 to correct typo in the seventh paragraph.
