Press Releases

For immediate release: July 1, 2021

Family Of Antonio Williams, Elected Officials, Call On Mayor De Blasio To Stop Hiding Evidence In Killing Of Antonio Williams

Today, the family of Antonio Williams, the Justice Committee, Communities United for Police Reform organized a rally with City Council Members Brad Lander, Antonio Reynoso and others to announce the filing of an Article 78 lawsuit to force the City to turn over critical information and evidence related to the NYPD killing of Antonio Williams.
For immediate release: July 1, 2021

Gwen Carr and Organizers Demand Mayor de Blasio Drop the Appeal of Historic Investigation into Eric Garner’s Killing

Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, Communities United for Police Reform, and the Justice Committee call for Mayor de Blasio to once again drop the appeal of the historic judicial inquiry into Eric Garner’s killing and release all the necessary records and documents related to the killing, following yesterday's discovery conference before Justice Erika M. Edwards of the New York State Supreme Court in Carr v. de Blasio.
For immediate release: June 30, 2021

Statement: #NYCBudgetJustice Campaign Slams City Council Vote That Prioritizes NYPD Over Community Investment

Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) and the #NYCBudgetJustice campaign of more than 200 national and local organizations, called on the City Council to vote against a FY22 budget that increases money to the NYPD instead of redirecting money to non-police safety solutions.
For immediate release: June 29, 2021

New Yorkers, Elected Officials, Rally To Demand City Council Vote No On City Budget That Increases NYPD Funding

The #NYCBudgetJustice coalition, with families of New Yorkers killed by police, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) members and partners, and elected officials held a rally and press conference to call on City Council members to vote against the FY22 budget that increases the NYPD’s bloated $6 billion expense budget, as compared to the FY21 budget adopted last June.
For immediate release: June 25, 2021

New Policy Report, “Path To A Safe, Healthy And Just Recovery: Cut NYPD’s Budget & Invest In Communities” Provides Budget Demands To Create A Thriving NYC

Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), the lead organization of the historic #NYCBudgetJustice campaign, released a policy report, Path to a Safe, Healthy, and Just Recovery: Cut NYPD’s Budget & Invest in Communities, calling for a reduction in the NYPD’s budget, scope, and size, and reallocation of funds to non-police health and safety strategies in New York City’s FY22 budget. Last year, Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Corey Johnson pedaled a $1 billion lie—that the NYPD’s budget would be cut by $1 billion in FY21—but that never happened, and CPR’s report details the extent of these fake cuts, as well as communities’ demands for the FY22 budget.
For immediate release: June 16, 2021

New Yorkers Demand City Council Last Year’s Promises of Cuts to NYPD's Budget & Reallocation Of Funds To Non-Police Health & Safety Solutions

Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) members, Brooklyn Movement Center, Citizen Action of NY, DRUM, Girls for Gender Equity, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Justice Committee, Make the Road New York, VOCAL-NY, and NYC Council Member Brad Lander, and others held a rally and press conference as part of the #NYCBudgetJustice campaign. Organizers, activists, and elected officials called on the City Council to:

For immediate release: June 10, 2021

Family of Kawaski Trawick Responds to CCRB Decision to Substantiate Charges Against NYPD Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis

Yesterday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) voted to substantiate misconduct charges against NYPD Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis, who killed Kawaski Trawick on April 14, 2019. The charges pertain to Officer Thompson’s and Davis’ abuse of authority, use of force, and other misconduct in their killing of Kawaski Trawick. NYPD officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis killed Kawaski Trawick in just 112 seconds after arriving at his apartment.

For immediate release: June 5, 2021

Organizers Unveil Murals Redefining Safety and Investing in Communities

Communities United for Police Reform, Color of Change, and Medicine Walls unveiled a series of five 8-foot by 20-foot murals that envision highlighting community demands to defund the NYPD and invest in Black, Latinx, and communities of color that have been historically defunded.
For immediate release: May 26, 2021

Court Hears Oral Arguments in the Lawsuit Seeking Judicial Inquiry into Eric Garner’s Killing; Family and Organizers Demand de Blasio Drop the Appeal

The NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, heard oral arguments in Carr v. de Blasio, the lawsuit seeking a historic judicial inquiry into Eric Garner’s killing, the cover-up that continues to this day, and the related refusal to fire officers who engaged in misconduct related to the killing.
For immediate release: May 25, 2021

Families of New Yorkers Killed by Police, Community Orgs, Elected Officials, March from Barclays Center to Bed-Stuy to Demand Justice for NYPD Killings

Groups demand to #DefundNYPD in FY22

Families whose loved ones have been killed by the NYPD, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), Make the Road New York, Justice Committee, Brooklyn Movement Center, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and other CPR member and partner groups, including Citizen Action of New York, Color of Change, Equality for Flatbush (E4F), Housing Works, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), New York City Anti-Violence Project, New York Working Families Party, TakeRoot Justice, and VOCAL-NY, led a march, starting at Barclays Center to Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn to demand the firing of NYPD officers who have killed New Yorkers and to demand Mayor Bill de Blasio, Speaker Corey Johnson and the City Council #DefundNYPD and redirect monies to community needs. The march marked the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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