In the Media

Police Reform Is Coming to New York City, but Will the NYPD Follow the Law?

10/16/2018
ACLU Blog

In December 2017, the New York City Council passed two police reform measures, collectively known as the Right to Know Act, which aimed to improve communication and transparency during police stops and searches. On Friday, both bills will take full effect, and the New York Police Department will be tasked with implementing the council’s mandate to become more transparent and accountable. But there are good reasons to be skeptical that the NYPD will implement the law faithfully. 

Gwen Carr: "Four Years Ago The NYPD Killed My Son. I’m Still Waiting For Justice."

At any point, Mayor Bill de Blasio could have held the police accountable for my son’s death. He’s chosen not to.
10/12/2018
BuzzFeed

Four years ago the NYPD killed my son, Eric Garner. We demand justice.

Right before they came for him, Eric had broken up a fight. But the NYPD lied about that from the very beginning, telling the press he was being arrested for selling loose cigarettes — all to somehow justify their violence that led to his death.

Judge orders city to turn over internal NYPD records in Ramarley Graham case

08/08/2018
New York Daily News

A Manhattan judge has ordered the NYPD to turn over internal documents surrounding the 2012 police shooting of 17-year-old Ramarley Graham, a ruling that could have implications that transcend this particular case.

Police officer Richard Haste shot Graham after bursting into his apartment thinking the teen was armed. No gun was found. Haste quit after his departmental trial on misconduct charges in 2017.

Judge Orders NYPD to Release Records Related to Fatal 2012 Bronx Shooting

A Manhattan judge has ordered the New York City Police Department to release a trove of documents from the case of Ramarley Graham, who was shot and killed in 2012 by an officer who has since left the department.
08/08/2018
New York Law Journal

A Manhattan judge has ordered the New York City Police Department to release a trove of documents from the case of Ramarley Graham, who was shot and killed in 2012 by an officer who has since left the department.

Blue Ribbon panel begins review of NYPD disciplinary system that has proved resistant to change

08/05/2018
New York Daily News

As the blue-ribbon panel created by the city’s top cop to review how the NYPD punishes police for misconduct begins its work, history has shown that the disciplinary system is stubbornly resistant to change.

Way back in 1972, for example, the Knapp Commission — formed to probe a police bribery scandal — urged the NYPD to increase penalties for misconduct. The recommendation was not heeded.

Names of officers who killed Saheed Vassell leaked, father and community call out NYPD

08/02/2018
New York Amsterdam News

The father of Saheed Vassell demanded more accountability of the police officers who killed his son.

Last Friday evening, 16 weeks after New York City Police Department officers shot and killed Saheed Vassell, the department leaked the names of the officers involved in the shooting. The officers identified were Leon Dinham, Anthony Bottiglieri, Bekim Molic and Omar Rafiq. Everyone but Rafiq was assigned to the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, Vassell’s district.

NYPD Watchdog Seeks Sharper Teeth Through Charter Revision

07/31/2018
Gotham Gazette

When the NYPD decided earlier this month to move ahead with its departmental trial against two officers involved in the 2014 death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner, it tasked the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent watchdog agency, with prosecuting the charges. But that prosecutorial authority has yet to be codified into the City Charter, the city’s central governing document, a change that CCRB officials are seeking through Mayor Bill de Blasio’s charter revision commission.

Advocates set to blame de Blasio for misleading public on Eric Garner case

Gwen Carr, mother of police victim Eric Garner, will accuse Mayor de Blasio of misleading the public on her son's case. Carr, politicians and other advocates were slated to appear at City Hall Tuesday afternoon. (James Keivom / New York Daily News)
07/17/2018
New York Daily News

Supporters of the family of a Staten Island man who died when cops used a banned chokehold in his arrest will accuse Mayor de Blasio of misleading the public on the case.

Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr, pols and other advocates were slated to appear at City Hall Tuesday to demand that the NYPD immediately begin disciplinary hearings against Officer Daniel Pantaleo and other cops involved in the fatal 2014 encounter.

Eric Garner Death: NYPD Trial 'Opportunistic' says Black Lives Matter Leader

07/17/2018
Newsweek

The New York Police Department has vowed to move ahead with disciplinary proceedings against the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner if the U.S. Department of Justice does not announce a decision on whether it will press federal charges by the end of August. 

The NYPD's decision to move forward with its trial came on Monday, a day before the four-year anniversary of Garner's death. 

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