In response to President Trump’s latest Executive Orders: Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens and Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens, Communities United for Police (CPR) reform released the following statement from Lumumba Bandele, Interim Executive Director of CPR.
“Trump’s latest Executive Orders will embolden increased police violence, shield abusive officers from accountability and roll back decades of progress on police reform. Trump is militarizing local and state law enforcement agencies and deploying them as a weapon to silence anyone who disagrees with him, which will disparately target Black, Latinx, immigrant, and other communities of color here in New York. Trump is using his bully pulpit to criminalize sanctuary cities and attack anyone who stands in the way of his mass deportation and detention agenda. In a dangerous step towards martial law, the Executive Orders also expand the role of the military in local law enforcement, and opens the door to deploying the military against U.S. Citizens.”
“These Executive Orders have no legal basis. The NYPD is run by the city of New York, not the president. We have witnessed people in New York City and around the country exhibit exemplary courage standing in the face of militarized police. Now is the time for New York elected officials to step up and exhibit similar courage to reject these executive orders and any subsequent resources, policy and rhetoric that promotes police violence and militarization.”
“The only way to reduce violence and tackle the challenges facing New York is to invest in programs and services that promote real safety for all New Yorkers, reduce homelessness, reduce overdoses, reduce incarceration and empower New Yorkers to thrive. Our officials must curb the NYPD’s excessive power; reduce the NYPD’s bloated budget, size and scope; hold abusive officers accountable; fire NYPD officers who have abused and killed New Yorkers and break the cycle of hyper aggressive policing with impunity. New Yorkers have the power to choose a different path than the one that the president has laid out – a path that moves beyond the politics of fear and toward the possibilities of a true, collective safety. The future of New York and the country depends on it.”
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.