In the Media

De Blasio Cites Cops’ Light Touch, But Some Protesters Charge Increased Brutality

11/06/2020
The City

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday again invoked what’s been his mantra for months: He expects cops to use “the lightest touch possible” as demonstrators take to the streets amid post-Election Day uncertainty.

But some New Yorkers who have been participating in anti-racism and anti-brutality marches since the spring say that after recent weeks of relative calm cops are back to heavy-handed, sometimes brutal tactics.

He’s About To Be The First Openly Gay Black Member Of Congress — And He’s Talking About Mental Health Like Few Politicians Ever Have

Ritchie Torres is grappling with how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting his likely New York district’s mental health and opening up about his own.
10/27/2020
BuzzFeed News

WASHINGTON — At 32, Ritchie Torres has already been a star in New York City politics for years.

At 25, he became the youngest member of the City Council. Soon, he’ll likely become one of the youngest members of the House, and, along with fellow New York Democratic congressional nominee Mondaire Jones, the first openly gay Black member of Congress.

Tri-State Area Police Unions Fight to Keep Disciplinary Records Private

Lawsuits try to block states’ new laws and policies to increase transparency
10/12/2020
Wall Street Journal

Police unions in the tri-state region are fighting to block new measures that would give the public access to law-enforcement discipline records, which have long been confidential.

Lawmakers and officials in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut enacted new policing disclosure laws and policies in recent months, amid nationwide protests calling for greater accountability. Advocates who support such changes say police officers entrusted to use lethal force should be subject to greater transparency and held responsible for misconduct.

‘I will continue to fight until I get the truth’: A year later, family of Antonio Williams wants justice and transparency

10/02/2020
Bronx Times

A year after Antonio Williams was murdered by police in the Bronx, members of the community expressed outrage for the lack of disciplinary action for the NYPD officers and that the unedited version of officers’ body cam footage had not yet been released.

Long-Promised Study of De Blasio's Neighborhood Policing Program Delayed Into His Final Months In Office

09/29/2020
Gotham Gazette

An external study of the NYPD’s neighborhood policing program, which Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD leadership have promised for years, has been delayed because of the pandemic, according to the company conducting the review. The results of the study, which is supposed to provide empirical support for one of de Blasio’s signature initiatives that he regularly credits for what he says are improved police-community relations, were originally due in mid-2021 and it’s currently unclear when they will be released.

Judge Clears Way For Eric Garner's Family To Question Mayor Bill De Blasio And NYPD Under Oath

09/25/2020
Gothamist
A New York Supreme Court judge ruled Thursday that a judicial inquiry into whether the New York Police Department failed to properly investigate the police officers involved in the death of Eric Garner in 2014 can go forward. The ruling potentially clears the way for Mayor Bill de Blasio and former NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, to be compelled to testify under oath about how they handled the aftermath of Garner’s death.

De Blasio takes Obama pledge to improve policing

09/10/2020
Amsterdam News

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took a pledge to improve police oversight and address extrajudicial police force.

On Monday, Aug. 31, the mayor spoke with reporters on adapting the Obama Foundation’s (former President Barack Obama) pledge directed toward mayors and city councils around the country to review use of force policies, engage the community with diverse ranges of input in the review, report the findings of the review back to the community and through that, reform police use of force.

Should police respond to mental health calls?

The death of Daniel Prude in Rochester has prompted calls to reimagine mental health crisis response.
09/10/2020
City & State

Eight years before Daniel Prude – a Black man experiencing a mental health crisis – died after being detained by police in Rochester, Hawa Bah watched a similar situation play out with her own son, Mohamed, in New York City. In 2012, Hawa Bah, a Guinean immigrant, called 911 for an ambulance to help her son, who had been acting erratically. New York City Police Department officers arrived at his apartment and eventually shot Mohamed Bah eight times, killing him. Police said Mohamed Bah lunged at one officer with a knife.

Under New Body Camera Policy, NYPD Still Controls the Video and the Narrative

09/01/2020
Gotham Gazette

In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new policy for automatically publishing body camera footage within 30 days when police officers kill or seriously injure someone. The step, he said, would give the public more assurances that they would actually see video captured in serious cases of police force, an implicit but often unrealized aim of the transparency program. But more than two months since the policy was implemented, old questions remain about who controls what footage is released, how it is edited and, ultimately, the narrative it creates.

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