Oral history interview with Deatra Y. Fuller, 2016
Abstract
Deatra Fuller discusses her time as a Police Administrative Aide for the New York City Housing Authority Police and for the New York City Police Department in the 1980s and 1990s. Her perspective on the internal operations of a few different Housing Police Service Areas, and New York City Police Precincts, led her to be very distrusting of police, and the New York City Police Department especially. She shares stories of police misconduct, sexism and social pressures in the work place, and the wrongful arrest of her son. Her friendships with members of her union, AFSCME DC37, and with members of the Guardians Association, were positive sources of support. However, after ten years as a Police Administrative Aide she stopped working for police and never went back. Also described in this interview, is her life in Harlem during the 1960s, and her views on current tensions between police and communities of color, as of 2016
African American police--New York (State); Police misconduct--New York (State); Police administration--New York (State); Discrimination in law enforcement--New York (State); Harlem (New York, N.Y.); Fuller, Deatra; NYPD Guardians Association; New York City Housing Authority. Police Department; New York (N.Y.). Police Department History
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2016
Physical Description
87 pages
Note (Biographical)
Deatra Fuller was born and raised in Harlem in the Grant projects during the 1950s and 1960s. During the late 1980s and early 1990s she worked as a Police Administrative Aide for the New York City Housing Authority Police and for the New York City Pol ice Department. She briefly joined the Guardians Association, but eventually withdrew because the organization was not geared toward civilian staff. After nearly ten years as a Police Administrative Aide, she became frustrated with the department and sought other employment