An suspected gangbanger and iPhone thief arrested at a Queens subway station would still be on the loose under a City Council bill to prevent cops from searching for suspects by ethnicity, the NYPD said yesterday.
Louis Barragan, 17, allegedly a member of the Sureno 13 gang with a lengthy rap sheet, was busted Wednesday evening by cops who heard a description on the radios that included the word “Hispanic.”
The use of ethnicity — along with gender and age — as a “determinative” factor in arrests and other police action would be illegal if the City Council passes a bill sponsored by Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn). It is one of four proposed bills targeting stop-and-frisk.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said cops would never have been able to close in on Barragan without a proper description of the suspect.
“How could they? The bill prohibits law-enforcement action ‘that relies, to any degree, on actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender,’ ” Browne said, quoting part of the bill.
Williams insisted cops are misreading the language. “You absolutely should use a complete description, including race, so you can do good police work,” he said.
At about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Barragan allegedly grabbed the iPhone from a man walking with his 4-year-old son. Cops found him at the Junction Avenue 7-train stop.
Barragan was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.