In the Media

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.

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.

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.”

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.