Press Releases

For immediate release:
June 8, 2018

Former Tennis Pro James Blake Responds to Report That NYPD Officer Who Tackled Him & Placed Him in Handcuffs Only Lost Five Vacation Days

Final discipline was only half of what NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board recommended

In response to a New York Daily News report revealing that Officer James Frascatore only received a punishment of losing five vacation days for tackling and slamming James Blake to the ground before improperly placing him in handcuffs outside of his Manhattan hotel in 2015, Blake released the following statement.

For immediate release:
June 8, 2018

Civil Rights, Community Groups Welcome NYPD Spying Report

Today, a coalition of community and civil rights organizations welcomed a report on the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) intelligence operations from Stephen Robinson, the Civilian Representative on the NYPD’s “Handschu Committee.” Last year, Mayor de Blasio appointed Robinson as the Civilian Representative, implementing reforms resulting from community mobilization in reaction to widespread NYPD spying on Muslim communities.

For immediate release:
May 15, 2018

CPR Responds to Release of Report by Facilitator of Stop-and-Frisk Court-Ordered Reform Process

In response to the filing of a final report by the Facilitator of the court-ordered reform process to stop-and-frisk to the court, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) released the following statement from spokesperson Linda Tigani of Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, whose member was the lead plaintiff in Floyd v. New York. CPR was a named stakeholder in the Court’s ruling in Floyd v. New York, Ligon v. New York and Davis v.

For immediate release:
April 12, 2018

One Week after Killing of Saheed Vassell, His Family, Other Families of New Yorkers Killed by NYPD & Community Members Demand Transparency from de Blasio/NYPD

Group demanded de Blasio administration end NYPD’s propaganda campaign to justify killing and fake transparency, called for real transparency through release of information

Community members also called for mayor and NYPD to stop misleading public by giving false reasons on why they won’t release information on officers

A week after the killing of Saheed Vassell by NYPD officers in Brooklyn, Vassell’s family was joined by the family members of other New Yorkers killed by NYPD officers and community members to demand real transparency from Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD. They condemned the efforts by the de Blasio administration and NYPD over the past week to engage in a campaign to justify the killing by criminalizing Vassell and focusing public attention on him, rather than provide transparency about the actions of the officers who shot and killed him.

For immediate release:
April 5, 2018

Brooklyn Movement Center Responds to NYPD Killing Saheed Vassell

In response to the NYPD killing of Saheed Vassell in broad daylight on Wednesday, Brooklyn Movement Center, a member of Communities United for Police Reform, released the following statement from Deputy Director Anthonine Pierre:

"Our condolences are with the family and loved ones of Saheed Vassell, who was killed by NYPD on the 50th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. Saheed Vassell should not have been killed and it’s completely unacceptable that families in New York City and across the nation continue to be harmed by police violence – this being at least the fourth such killing in the past 9 months in New York City (Dwayne Jeune, Miguel Richards and Mario Sanabria).
For immediate release:
March 27, 2018

Newly Released NYPD Files from Killing of Ramarley Graham Ordered Released by Judge Reveal Fabricated Account That Sought to Justify Killing

Documents show officers lied in immediate aftermath during investigation, yet department apparently never held anyone accountable for lies that even NYPD brass repeated publicly

Records are first in trove of files that judge ordered city to release following lawsuit against NYPD for refusing to comply with FOIL request by Graham’s family, supporting organizations

For immediate release:
March 8, 2018

Advocates, Electeds, Legal Groups & New Yorkers Directly Harmed Demand de Blasio & O’Neill Take Action to Fix Broken NYPD Disciplinary System


Following investigation revealing hundreds of NYPD officers guilty of serious misconduct being spared meaningful discipline, police reform campaign calls for firings and concrete reforms to help fix failed police accountability that allows abusive officers to continue in department, undermining trust and safety.
For immediate release:
February 15, 2018

New York Police Reform Campaign Responds to Not Guilty Verdict in Case of Deborah Danner’s Killing by NYPD Officer

In response to a not guilty verdict against the officer who shot and killed Deborah Danner, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokespeople Monifa Bandele (Vice President & Chief Partnership and Equity Officer at MomsRising.org) and Rama Issa-Ibrahim (Executive Director of Arab American Association of New York).

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