In the Media

The fight for transparency in police misconduct, explained

New York’s repeal of section 50-a — which allowed police to shield misconduct records — is a big win for activists, but there is more work to be done.
06/16/2020
Vox

In 2012, Ramarley Graham, an 18-year-old black teenager, was fatally shot in his own home by a white New York City police officer, Richard Haste. Haste and other officers had followed Graham home from a nearby bodega and forced their way in, later saying that they believed Graham was carrying a gun. Graham was, in fact, unarmed.

What $1 Billion of the NYPD’s Budget Could Do for Housing

Investing in NYCHA and permanent affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers are just some of the suggestions.
06/12/2020
Curbed

As New Yorkers protested against racism and police brutality over the past few weeks, the NYPD was caught on video clashing with demonstrators several times: shoving a 20-year-old woman against the pavement, hitting individuals with batons, and driving into a crowd with an SUV.

How the U.S. could reform police in response to protests against brutality and racism

06/11/2020
CNBC

Repeated police killings of black Americans have sparked the widest push for law enforcement reform in years. 

The nationwide movement fueled by George Floyd’s death last month has already kick-started change in cities and states. The coming months will help to determine just how far officials go in reshaping departments — and whether Congress will join state and local lawmakers in taking steps to overhaul policing. 

Policymakers across the country have targeted several major areas in their reform discussions, including:

Battered de Blasio finding friends after ‘#DefundNYPD’ splits progressives

New York mayor had faced a left-flank insurrection over his response to Black Lives Matter protests.
06/10/2020
Politico

NEW YORK — For the past few weeks, Mayor Bill de Blasio has struggled to communicate his alliance with New Yorkers troubled by police misconduct — marooning himself on a lonely island between the NYPD he oversees and a growing movement demanding it be reformed.

Now he appears to be finding some footing.

In New York City, Momentum Behind Cutting the NYPD Budget Is Growing

Activists and advocates in New York City have long called for the city to make sharp cuts to the NYPD, the nation's largest police force.
06/05/2020
Jacobin

As protesters continue to meet a massive police presence on the streets of New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city council are under pressure to defund the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and reduce its power. Momentum is building for cuts — the question is how substantial those cuts will be.

What NYC could do with its $6 billion police budget

06/05/2020
Curbed

At a City Council hearing in late May, Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, urged for sweeping cuts to the proposed budget for the New York City Police Department.

“No one knows better than me that when you prioritize, fund, and shield the NYPD—instead of investing in our communities—the impact is devastating for black and Latinx communities,” she said. “In the most extreme cases, the impact is deadly. For me and my family, it means that Eric is gone forever.”

Amid protests, effort to repeal controversial police law makes headway

Activists involved express optimism, say momentum is stronger than ever.
06/05/2020
ABC News

As protests over the killing of George Floyd continue across the country, momentum in New York to repeal a decades-old police transparency law appears to be gaining steam, according to activists and legislators involved in the effort, in what they say would be a major step forward in the fight for police reform.

Police Misconduct Records Are Secret. Protests May Finally Change That.

06/04/2020
New York Times

At some point, history may show us that after years of aggression, after so much brutality that suggested so little fear of consequence, it took the looting of Chanel and the reversion of SoHo to a wasteland to disable a law that has made real police accountability so difficult in New York City. It required a political class moved by fear — of disorder and desecration — rather than compelled by the logic of justice, which had been obvious for so long.

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