The police raid and the arrests were meant to break them up, but it only brought the group closer. If anything, the attention from police—throwing Terrance and Shawn’s moms in jail—made them feel persecuted. From then on, it was the Zoo Crew versus the police. And with every overzealous police interaction that followed, the Zoo Crew was further cast as a symbol for Newark’s least and left out. They were at once victims of Newark’s neglect and agents of harm in the city. The police were attempting to disrupt the flow of drugs in the city but abusing people in the process, something they had a
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