Ep 142 | Sergeant Steven Lee: NYPD Whistleblower Fights to Reform Police Corruption Part 2

Talking Taiwan

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

This is part two of my interview with Sergeant Steven Lee, a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, and whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption. Previously, in part one, we talked about Sergeant Lee’s undercover work and the police corruption that he’s witnessed.

If you haven’t had a chance to hear part one, you might want to go back and listen to it first. In part two Steve talks about what happened after his undercover work and the related court case, his thoughts on how to combat corruption within the NYPD, and why he plans to run for State Assembly next year.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• What happened to Steve after his undercover work and the related court case
• The corruption that Steve has seen in Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD
• Steve’s suggestions for how to independently monitor the NYPD and Internal Affairs Bureau
• How Steve believes that the police should identity with culture and customs of the communities they work in, and that there are enough police able to speak the languages spoken in their precincts
• How Steve deals with the pressure of being a whistleblower
• Steve’s 2020 run for State Assembly in District 40 and how he’s running again next year
• What changes Steve has seen with the NYPD since the murder of George Floyd
• Hoops over Hate
• Ron Kim, Steve’s opponent for State Assembly in District 40

Related Links:

Ostracized NYPD whistleblower runs for state office in Queens: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-steven-lee-ron-kim-assembly-20200211-mp26mhghpnen5altiqxahree3m-story.html

Queens Daily Eagle article, " ‘You can't have cops watching cops' — NYPD officer, ex-cop lawyer sue NYC": https://queenseagle.com/all/cops-corruption-harassment-nypd-lawsuit-lee-murray

NYPD 109th Precinct: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/109th-precinct.page

https://twitter.com/nypd109pct?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/NYPD109PCT/

Queens Daily Eagle article, "Flushing assembly race gets ugly with claims of ‘cyberbullying’ burner accounts": https://queenseagle.com/all/flushing-assembly-race-gets-ugly-amid-claims-of-cyberbullying-burner-accounts

Steven Lee on Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Steven_Lee_(New_York)

Edwin Raymond: https://www.edwinraymond.com/

https://nypost.com/2020/06/28/cop-suing-nypd-for-racial-profiling-running-for-city-council/

NY Post article, "Teen assaulted in anti-Asian attack on Queens basketball court": https://nypost.com/2021/03/17/teen-assaulted-in-anti-asian-attack-on-queens-basketball-court/

Hoops over Hate: https://www.facebook.com/events/1811972852291087?ref=newsfeed

https://www.facebook.com/asiansinamericainc/posts/111180254400558

NY Assemblyman Ron Kim: https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Ron-Kim

Crime + Punishment (the award-winning Hulu original documentary): https://youtu.be/C6lB9HQnSac