Last Saturday, the Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act, sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Chelsea, Midtown), officially went into effect.
The bill requires the State to record the sex, race and ethnicity of anyone charge with a crime or misdemeanor, and that of anyone who dies in police custody. It passed the New York State Legislature in June, amid a national outcry against police misconduct.
On paper, 2020 was 12 months, just like any other year. But let’s be real, it felt more like a decade, at least. January was a lifetime ago, back before social distancing, Zoom parties and entire countries shutting down. Those times are but a distant memory, with photos of maskless crowds like relics of a time long past. The biggest story at the beginning of the year – the impeachment of President Donald Trump – was just the first chapter in the epic saga that has been 2020.
Today, the Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act (S.1830-C/A.10609) sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Joe Lentol takes effect.
Almost six months after it was signed into law by Governor Cuomo.
This legislation requires New York State to collect and report data on the race, ethnicity and sex of anyone arrested and charged with a misdemeanor or violation, as well as of anyone who dies while in police custody or an attempt to establish custody.
This past Wednesday, December 2, marked one year since Dermot Shea was sworn in as the 44th commissioner of the New York Police Department, the third commissioner to serve in the role under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Shea’s first year in the top-cop job has been tumultuous and punctuated with controversy; a trial by fire in unprecedented times, and he often came up short, as judged by critics on both his left and his right and those simply frustrated by police brutality and rising crime.
New York City receives 200,000 mental health-related 911 calls each year. In addition to the Emergency Medical Technicians who respond to those calls, the NYPD is dispatched—whether the person in distress is perceived to be a physical danger or not.
On Tuesday, Nov. 24, the family of Antonio Williams’ held a virtual press conference calling for the firing of the NYPD officers who shot and killed the 27-year-old father and NYPD Officer Brian Mulkeen on Sept 29 2019. The incident took place after plainclothes officers attempted to arrest Williams for unspecified reasons. Officer Mulkeen was a victim of friendly fire. Williams’ family announced that they have filed a lawsuit with the Bronx Supreme Court which alleges that the shooting “violated New York state law and the NYPD’s departmental regulations.”
The family of a man fatally shot by police in the Bronx last year – in an incident that also led to the friendly fire shooting death of an officer -- is suing the city and the NYPD, claiming officers’ questionable tactics were directly responsible for the fatalities.
Antonio Williams was waiting for a cab one night in 2019 when a slew of NYPD officers chased, kicked, and punched him in the head, before fatally shooting him and letting him bleed out for five minutes. And they still won’t reveal why they approached the 27-year-old in the first place, according to a lawsuit and new footage released by his family.
The family of a man who was shot to death by police is planning to take the NYPD to court.
This comes after the family says new video doesn’t add up to what the department says.
Antonio Williams, 27, was killed last year during a confrontation with the NYPD that also led to the death of Officer Brian Mulkeen.
“He was funny, he pretty much brought joy to everyone when he came in. He was a jokester,” said Williams’ stepmother, Gladys Williams.