“What do we want? Justice. When? Now. Stop police abuse.” This is the rallying cry of protestors on March 15, on what could be called “gang profiling” by the New York City Police Department.

On March 11, two undercover officers with their guns drawn, not identifying themselves, swooped down on nine young Mexicans in front of 322 East 117 Street. All of them were arrested.

The teens, ages 13 to 20, had gathered in front of the building to go play soccer. Marisol Ramos, from Esperanza el Barrio, an East Harlem organization that defends the rights of the Mexican community, called four of the target kids to describe their experience to members of the media. They dramatize how they were treated by the undercover cops.

The kids described how young girls were shoved to the side; boys were forced to lay down on the pavement while having guns pointed at them; all told not to utter a word. Some of them were slammed against the walls before their arrest. All but two were released after 24 hours. At the precinct, one of the boys was stripped searched.

Alicia, one of the mothers, said that when she, along with other parents, went to the precinct, they were mocked and treated with disregard. She said, “Our children are students, not delinquents, not criminals, and we want that arrest record to be erased and the photographs returned to us.”

Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito (D- 8th District), who attended the rally, said “After hearing the experiences of these young people, learning what their families have gone through, I can only say that this is totally unacceptable. In an era when there is an effort in the City Council to improve the relations between the police and the communities, this type of police behavior does not help achieve this goal.”

The councilwoman also said she has tried to set up a meeting with the NYPD’s anti-gang unit. She wants to allow the police to explain themselves and come to an understanding between themselves and the community. At the same time, she expressed support for the families’ push to get the arrest record thrown out and recover the photos taken of the arrested youth.

“We need to have our police department and its officers be more responsible to the communities they patrol,” she added.

Leslie,13, feared for her brother Adrian’s life because of the proximity of the officer’s gun to his head. “I was scared that the loaded pistol could go off and kill him,” she said.

Another victim, Luis, told of having a gun pointed to his head and getting smacked around on the way to the precinct.

Lydia Callega, community board member and co-founder of Esperanza Del Barrio, said, “I came to lend support to these young people because they were unjustly arrested, wrongly profiled and judged and I am greatly concerned and want to support the demand of an explanation from Precinct 25 to the family and parents who were dismayed by the police action against their children.”