Press Releases

“Either Bill Bratton is desperate for national attention or is seeking to deflect from corruption investigations and his impotence in addressing systemic failed police accountability, but it could be all of the above. His claim of an ‘epidemic’ that legal observation of the police fuels police violence against civilians is akin to blaming the witness of a violent crime for the actions of the attacker – it’s ludicrous.

“We applaud Speaker Mark-Viverito for convening the Young Women’s Initiative and the leadership of its participants – including Girls for Gender Equity, New York Women’s Foundation and many others – for putting forth important recommendations for government improvements for girls, young women and our entire city. We are pleased to see that the YWI recommended the policies of the Right to Know Act, just as the White House’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing did. Given this widespread support from Washington to communities across our city and a majority of council members, there should be urgent action to pass the Right to Know Act without further delay.

Advocates from Communities United for Police Reform and other organizations from across New York were joined by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol and Senator Daniel Squadron to call for the prioritizing of criminal justice reform that advances transparency in the post-budget legislative session. Specifically, the group called for the passage of the Police-STAT Act (A.7698/S.6001), legislation sponsored by Lentol and Sqaudron that would requre state government to publicly report vital information about policing across the state.

 

Two days after U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced he would not pursue charges against the officers responsible for killing Ramarley Graham, Graham’s parents and supporters turned their attention to Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bratton, demanding they fire all the officers involved in the killing and subsequent treatment of the family and incident.