Needless Victims

alberto Willmore 1

I have to say that I am just perplexed by the amount of force and energy that the NYPD (under Mayor Bloomberg’s directive) uses to crack down on casual marijuana users. Under Bloomberg’s 12 year reign, pot arrests have soared with over 85% of those arrested being either latino or black.

Title: Alberto Willmore: Arrested By NYPD for Smoking, Source: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1504707/thumbs/o-WILLMORE-facebook.jpg

Alberto Willmore

A story broke earlier this month about a New York man named Alberto Willmore. Willmore, an African-American, was a beloved NYC school teacher who, when off school grounds, was caught smoking by a couple of NYPD officers.

Willmore is an art teacher and he would often use chalk to do sidewalk art outside of his private residence. As he tells it, he was outside smoking and enjoying his artwork. After he was done, he flicked the butt into the gutter and turned to go inside. That’s when he heard tires screeching. He thought there was a car accident so he looked around the street only to see two cops heading his direction.

One cop grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and pushed him up against a fence. He then was forced to the ground and berated with foul language by one of the officers while the other went to retrieve the butt from the gutter. The cops told Willmore that he was being arrested for smoking marijuana.

That’s not that crazy, right? I mean pot is not legal in New York and it is the prerogative of the cops to enforce the laws.

The only problem? Willmore was smoking a cigarette, not weed.

He stated as much to the cops over and over again to no avail. The following day, Alberto went back to work and found a letter in his school mailbox from the board of education that said, “we have determined that it is inappropriate for you to continue your current assignment.” Less than 24 hours after this bogus arrest, Willmore had already lost his job.

My heart goes out to Willmore. This is just plain wrong. The consequence was so severe because the NY Dept. of Labor (who oversees state employees) has a list of “serious misconduct.” Here are the top four transgressions, in the order they are listed on the official document:

  1. The felony sale, possession, or use of marijuana, a controlled substance, or a precursor of a controlled substance or drug paraphenalia, or
  2. any crime involving physical or sexual abuse of a minor or student,
  3. any felony committed either on school property or while in the performance of teaching duties, or
  4. any felony involving a firearm.

You’re not seeing things. According to this numbered list, pot possession is WORSE than sexual abuse, felonious behavior while teaching and firearm possession. Quick show of hands from the parents out there: would you rather your kid’s art teacher liked to smoke weed or sexually assault your child? Would you rather see that same teacher sparking a J or cocking a 9mm? I think this list shows just how wildly out of place are the Dept. of Labor’s priorities. And remember, Willmore never acually had any cannabis whatsoever.

This also brings to light a pretty big problem in New York’s justice system. Within hours of arrest charges being filed, many state employees are often suspended or terminated. To clarify, that means that simply the charges are grounds for suspension/termination. No evidence is needed, no trial or due process. I was once (erroneously) charged with a hit and run for accidentally backing into a large truck in a crowded parking lot. I was going all of 0.25 MPH and there was no damage save a small scratch on my car. The person I hit didn’t even care or file charges; it was some person who witnessed it and called the cops telling them that I “rammed into the truck then sped off.” It was really aggravating and it ended up costing me close to $500 in legal fees and 40 hours of community service. All because some random stranger said it was so.

The kids adored Willmore. From one of his students, “”I honestly think he would jump in front of a bullet for us. He just loved us.”

Alberto’s plea: “They took my life, they took what I love to do most…[that school] was my life, it was the reason I got out of bed in the morning…I only hope that I can go back.”

There may not be much we can do in our community, but please share the story and send your good intentions to Mr. Willmore and the countless other innocent people wrapped up in the failure of American drug policy. The laws are the problem, not the cannabis.