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Frank Serpico among NYPD officers to support Colin Kaepernick

Frank Serpico among NYPD officers to support Colin Kaepernick

Some 75 active and retired NYPD officers rallied in Brooklyn Saturday to demonstrate their support for quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The officers wore "#imwithkap" T-shirts and talked and sang in support of the quarterback and his efforts to find another team in the NFL. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers this spring, but his politicial activism, most notably his decision to kneel during the national anthem before games last season, has reportedly made several teams wary of signing him.



While most of the officers at the rally were African-American or other minorities, one notable exception was 81-year-old former NYPD officer Frank Serpico, whose whistle-blowing efforts on corruption in the department inspired the 1973 Al Pacino movie "Serpico."

"I am here to support anyone who has the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression anywhere in this country and the world," Serpico told the New York Daily News.

NYPD Sgt. Edwin Raymond, who helped organize the rally, said Kaepernick is being "railroaded."


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"What Colin Kaepernick did is try to bring awareness that this nation unfortunately has ignored for far too long," Raymond told the Daily News. "And that's the issue of racism in America and policing in America. We decided to gather here today because of the way he's being railroaded for speaking the obvious truth."

The rally drew a number of other community members wanting to support the quarterback. At the end of the event, all participants raised their fists and took a knee.