In a letter, organizations call for an end to Mayor Adams’ “Neighborhood Safety Teams” and other proposals that will put more police on the street
Today, over 75 organizations sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Council ahead of the Mayor’s trip to Washington to share his new and deeply regressive “Blueprint to End Gun Violence” with Congress. The letter details community demands to address violence by using real public health solutions through investments in communities and called for an end to Mayor Adams’ proposals that expand policing and further criminalize Black, Latinx, and other New Yorkers of color. The letter, organized by Communities United for Police Reform, included signatories from all five boroughs and a wide range of organizations specializing in community organizing, civil rights, youth development, and interpersonal violence reduction.
Victoria Davis and Victor Dempsey, siblings of Delrawn Small, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), and the Justice Committee met with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) regarding the prosecution of NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs who killed Delrawn Small in 2016.
A New York State Supreme Court Judge Verna L. Saunders dismissed NYPD Officer Wayne’s Isaacs’ baseless attempt to block his long-delayed discipline trial for killing Delrawn Small. Isaacs, who shot and killed Delrawn Small in front of his 4-month-old baby, teen stepdaughter, and girlfriend on July 4, 2016, filed an Article 78 lawsuit in March 2021 to try to prevent the CCRB from moving forward in a disciplinary prosecution.
A statement from Communities United for Police Reform spokesperson, Mark Winston Griffith, in response to Mayor Adams' announcement and plan:
“Every New Yorker can agree that we need a city in which every person feels safe and can thrive. Community safety requires a smart and multi-faceted approach when addressing violence in our city. Unfortunately, Mayor Adams has returned to the same failed playbook of centering policing, and enforcement in his plan for ending gun violence,”
Communities United for Police Reform, the Justice Committee, and the family of Eric Garner responded to the news that Deputy Commissioner Joseph Reznick was asked to leave the NYPD and are calling for the firing of former Deputy Commissioner Kevin Richardson, NYPD Officer Justin Damico, Lt. Christopher “Not a Big Deal” Bannon, and all the NYPD officers and officials who engaged in misconduct related to the killing of Eric Garner.
Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a program that would entrench NYPD in homeless outreach on NYC subways, defying the demands of New Yorkers to reduce the NYPD’s footprint on our subways and in social service roles.
Following Governor Kathy Hochul’s first State of the State address, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR’s) released the following statement from Kesi Foster, Spokesperson for CPR
