...In New York City, Steve Kohut is an organizer with Cop Watch, a program part of the grassroots group the Justice Committee that documents arrests and police interactions within communities.
Cop Watch was first created and implemented by the Black Panthers in the 1960s, but came to New York through various community groups in the 2000s, Kohut said.
The group regularly organizes patrols of citizen observers in neighborhoods throughout New York City where community members have indicated high occurrences of police misconduct and abuse, he said.
"We pull out a camera, document the incidents and let the person involved in the incident know we're there to help them," Kohut said. The biggest concern for those on Cop Watch is that "the person is treated respectfully and their rights are not violated," he said.
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