In the Media

‘Our Message Is Clear: Defund the Police, Invest in Our Communities’

Activists and community members gathered over the weekend to unveil five new community murals advocating the defunding of the NYPD
06/08/2021
BK Reader

Carl Stubbs put it simply: “I wonder what my life would be like if the money used to arrest me and lock me up was instead used to support my education and help me get a job?”

Stubbs, who has been affected by and fighting mass incarceration “my whole life,” posed the rhetorical question over the weekend to a crowd gathered for the unveiling of five community murals demanding a defunding of the NYPD.

First arrested at age 12, Stubbs said he spent the next 20 years “going in and out of jail, mostly committing crimes because I couldn’t find a job.”

Nation marks one year since George Floyd police murder

05/27/2021
Amsterdam News

Tuesday marked one year since the May 25, 2020 police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Several events across the country and the city took place to remember the incident that ignited a nationwide racial reckoning and calls for police reforms.

The infamous cellphone video of former police officer Derek Chauvin putting his knee on Floyd’s neck during an arrest for more than nine minutes was forever cemented as a dark moment in American history. Last month, justice was served as Chauvin was convicted on two counts of murder and is facing up to 40 years in prison.

Thousands Of New Yorkers Mark One-Year Anniversary Of George Floyd's Death

05/26/2021
Gothamist

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across New York City on Tuesday night, marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin, who in April was convicted by a jury of murder and manslaughter. Marches, rallies, and vigils around the city paid tribute to Floyd and demanded an end to systemic racism in American law enforcement, including the NYPD.

How are states revamping policing policy after the fallout from George Floyd's murder? In very different ways

05/05/2021
Lohud

A few days before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, Iowa’s House of Representatives was debating the legal immunity officers have for their on-the-job actions.

The April 14 floor debate was over a large policing policy bill that included whether to expand the qualified immunity that shields officers from civil penalties.

Internal NYPD Documents Show Cops Were Sent To Protests With Barely Any First Amendment Training

Most officers at the George Floyd protests received only vague academy training that emphasized arresting protesters over defending their rights.
05/05/2021
The Intercept

LAST YEAR, after New York officials announced a plan to dispatch 500 additional police officers to the city’s subway system, a coalition of activist groups organized a series of protests. On January 31, they held a “day of transit action” that saw small demonstrations pop up at stations and on trains across the city. “Fuck your $2.75,” a flyer promoting the event read, referring to the cost of a subway ride.

Opinion: Rightsizing the Police Budget will Enable a Safer, Healthier and More Equitable City

05/05/2021
Gotham Gazette

On April 26, Mayor de Blasio presented his executive budget plan for the city’s next fiscal year, FY22, which begins July 1. In it, he included slight increases to the NYPD’s budget. This comes on the heels of the largest civil rights movement in a generation demanding reinvestments and the heartbreaking murders of Adam Toledo and Daunte Wright. If I were in the City Council now, I would fight for a right-sized police budget and deep investments into community care when the adopted budget is agreed upon in June.

It’s working in Eugene, Olympia, Denver: More cities are sending civilian responders, not police, on mental health calls

It’s working in Eugene, Olympia, Denver: More cities are sending civilian responders, not police, on mental health calls
04/05/2021
USA Today

NEW YORK – Mildred Galarza and Hawa Bah wish it were someone other than armed police officers who first encountered their loved ones when they were having mental health crises.

Galarza's brother, Ariel, 49, died in 2016 after being Tasered three times by police when a neighbor in the Bronx called 911 to report a man with a knife who was pale, screaming and breathing heavily, a state report said.

Denver and more U.S. cities successfully sending mental health responders instead of police

04/05/2021
The Grio

Multiple cities across the country are building programs that involve mental health professionals, social workers, or community members responding to certain 911 emergency calls instead of police officers.

According to USA Today, Eugene, Oregon, Olympia, Washington, and  Denver have the only existing non-police responder programs in the United States, however, more strategies and plans are being developed in various locations.

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