NEW YORK�For eleven months the Internal Affairs Bureau of the New York City Police Department kept close surveillance on Lt. Eric Adams, a co-founder of 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care.

�We were not surprised about the monitoring. It is the extent that the IAB intruded into our family lives, that is why we are seeking legal redress,� he told The Final Call. Lt. Adams has been an outspoken critic about racism and how it impacts Black officers and civilians, and is known for support of community causes. He believes that was the reason for the wiretap and has lawyers working on a response to the department�s actions.

The controversy erupted July 13 when Deputy Chief Raymond King, who heads the IAB criminal investigation unit, testified in the civil trial of former Black policewoman Yvette Walton, saying NYPD had spied on Mr. Adams and his organization.

Ms. Walton is suing the New York Police Department, charging she was fired after public criticism of the Street Crime Unit killing of Amadou Diallo. The department says that she was fired because she abused sick leave privileges. Chief King stated under oath that 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement was placed under surveillance in March 1999�a month after four white Street Crime Unit officers took 41 shots at Mr. Diallo, an African immigrant, hitting him 19 times. A jury in Albany, N.Y., found the four officers not guilty of murder in February 2000.

Lt. Eric Adams was the most visible member of the organization as it publicly criticized the NYPD following Mr. Diallo�s death.

Black police officers, who were members of the Street Crime Unit complained that 100 Blacks was harassing them, which was one reason for the wiretap, said IAB officials.

Lt. Adams said IAB officials and Police Commissioner Howard Safir are saying totally different things. The truth will come out in court, he said.

Ron Hampton, director of the National Black Police Association, said Lt. Adams and other outspoken officers aren�t surprised when are targeted by their police departments. �What we believe is, if we are being effective, we are going to be followed by whoever,� he said.

Mr. Hampton, who spent 20-years on the Washington, D.C. police force, noted that last year the Vanguard Justice Society, an organization of Black police officers in Baltimore, Md., was under surveillance by the department�s Internal Affairs Division.

When Vanguard Society members spoke at a city council meeting about the disproportionate number of Black and Latino officers disciplined, then Police Commissioner Thomas Frazier admitted the group was under surveillance, Mr. Hampton recalled. The chief also admitted two Black officers attended Vanguard Society meetings and reported back to him, he added. Mr. Frazier is now with the Justice Department.

�The brothers and sisters in New York must understand that the police department will never embrace them. Their (officials) position is that you are trying to damage the police department,� said Mr. Hampton.

Officers like Eric Adams and De Lacy Davis, of Black Cops Against Police Brutality, in Orange, N.J., �are soldiers on the battlefield. We are in a war, have no doubt about that,� the former police officer continued.

�We know that we are being followed. Police department surveillance is an effective tool for breaking down weak officers of color,� Mr. Davis said. Federal agents have photographed him at rallies and nine months after requesting his FBI file under the Freedom of Information Act, Mr. Davis said he has heard nothing.

Other officers are told not to talk to him, nor join his group if they want to advance, Mr. Davis added. �We have 4,000 members nationwide and you better believe every one of them is under surveillance,� he said.

Sgt. Anthony Miranda, president of the Latino Police Officers Association of New York City, agrees that department scrutiny is predictable, even if you are doing nothing wrong.

NYPD probes have not found the Latino officers guilty of wrongdoing, yet Mr. Miranda said investigators photographed him and his six-year-old son. �We are going to continue to challenge the disproportionate firing and disciplining of Latino officers by the NYPD,� Mr. Miranda said. He and others say they won�t give up their right to speak out when things are wrong.

The surveillance does have a serious affect, admits Mr. Adams, noting how non-members jokingly ask �are we being taped� when talking to members of his organization.

Officers will be less likely to talk or report concerns and the community is likely to feel the same way, he explained.

The NYPD spying has an impact and could limit 100 Blacks ability to help the community, said Rev. Herbert Daughtry, a community activist and long-time friend and mentor to Lt. Adams.

The police commissioner said the episode was the result of �over zealous investigators� doing their job, said Mr. Adams. That explanation isn�t enough and 100 Blacks will continue to stand against NYPD wrongdoing, he vowed.

As for the other issues, Lt. Adams plans to just see his department in court.