The city agency created to increase oversight of the New York Police Department referred more than half of the complaints it received last year to the NYPD’s internal investigative body, according to a new report, prompting some to question the effectiveness of an entity intended to act independently of the department it oversees.
Dozens of advocates were joined by black and Latino lawmakers for a rally outside the Senate chambers in the Capitol on Tuesday, asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to appoint a special prosecutor when a civilian dies during police interaction. Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez, who died in 1994 after an apparent chokehold during a police encounter, urged Cuomo to sign an executive order to appoint a special prosecutor as soon as possible.
Community groups and families of those killed by police officers joined state legislators Tuesday outside the Senate Chamber to stress the importance of police accountability and transparency.
A group of fourteen progressive City Council members have signed a letter asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to take the investigation out of the hands of local district attorneys any time police-related killings occur.
Members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus today joined with minority activist groups to demand Gov. Andrew Cuomo appoint special prosecutors in police killings—and to trash the governor’s State of the State proposal to create an independent monitor to review grand jury proceedings when a cop is found not guilty of a crime.