NYC Budget Justice

Should police respond to mental health calls?

The death of Daniel Prude in Rochester has prompted calls to reimagine mental health crisis response.
09/10/2020
City & State

Eight years before Daniel Prude – a Black man experiencing a mental health crisis – died after being detained by police in Rochester, Hawa Bah watched a similar situation play out with her own son, Mohamed, in New York City. In 2012, Hawa Bah, a Guinean immigrant, called 911 for an ambulance to help her son, who had been acting erratically. New York City Police Department officers arrived at his apartment and eventually shot Mohamed Bah eight times, killing him. Police said Mohamed Bah lunged at one officer with a knife.

How Do Black Lawmakers and Activists View ‘Defunding the NYPD’? It’s Complicated

08/28/2020
Gotham Gazette

The New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio crafted an $88.2 billion budget for the current fiscal year in what was one of the most contentious budget negotiations in years, coming amid a pandemic-caused recession and a resurgent racial justice movement that sought to “Defund the NYPD” and redirect some of its massive resources to social services in communities of color.

The movement to defund police has won historic victories across the US. What's next?

08/15/2020
Guardian

In the days after the killing of George Floyd, an extraordinary wave of mass protests erupted across the US, with demonstrators setting fire to police buildings and cars, shutting down freeways and bridges and storming city halls and neighborhoods.

Amid familiar chants of Black Lives Matter, a new slogan emerged: “Defund the police.”

How Police Unions Fight Reform

Activists insist that police departments must change. For half a century, New York City’s P.B.A. has successfully resisted such demands.
07/27/2020
New Yorker

In May, just days after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, Lieutenant Bob Kroll, the bellicose leader of the city’s police union, described Floyd as a violent criminal, said that the protesters who had gathered to lament his death were terrorists, and complained that they weren’t being treated more roughly by police. Kroll, who has spoken unsentimentally about being involved in three shootings himself, said that he was fighting to get the accused officers reinstated. In the following days, the Kentucky police union rallied around officers who had fatally shot an E.M.T.

We looked at protester demands from across the nation and compared them with recent police reforms.

Protesters have made their demands clear, and cities are starting to respond. But is it enough?
07/20/2020
USA Today

In the 18 days after the death of George Floyd, 16 states introduced, amended, or passed various police-reform bills.

We looked at what protesters are asking for and what changes have actually been implemented. While a handful of new policies met demands, most local officials and law enforcement agencies failed to fulfill expectations.  

Defunding law enforcement

Lentory Johnson knows what "defund the police" means to her — and she has a perspective based on a deeply personal experience.

De Blasio Promised Another Charter Revision Commission; Electeds and Advocates are Ready with Suggestions

07/17/2020
Gotham Gazette

When Mayor Bill de Blasio said in late April that he was creating a task force to lead a “fair recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic, nestled in his announcement was a brief statement that he also intends to call another Charter Revision Commission. But the mayor hasn’t yet convened that commission, which would be the third to be created while he has been mayor, the second by him alone, and hasn’t explained his rationale for it. 

Bruising budget complicates Corey Johnson’s mayoral prospects

07/06/2020
Politico

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson was having a blast: One month after securing an uncertain victory that catapulted him toward the apex of New York’s political pyramid, he joined the morning crew at Fox5 for an impromptu, televised dance party as the Groundhog Day weather segment wound down.

He seemed to be sending New Yorkers a message: With boundless energy and joy, he would embody qualities Mayor Bill de Blasio — somber on the lightest of occasions — does not.

A Budget that Either Clobbers or Coddles the NYPD

07/02/2020
City Limits

Earlier this week, Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican Assemblymember from Staten Island who is running to unseat Democrat Max Rose from Congress, sent a missive to supporters. 

“Yesterday, wacko mayor Bill de Blasio announced he was caving to Max Rose and the other extreme leftists’ demand and cutting $1 billion from the NYPD budget.”

On Wednesday, after that budget passed in the wee hours of the morning amid an unusual level of dissent within the Council, Scott Roberts, senior director of criminal-justice campaigns at Color Of Change, described it differently.

Activists in the U.S. claim partial victory in long battle to reform, defund police departments

Budget fights in New York and cities across the country bring gains, disappointments
07/05/2020
CBC News

For the thousands of protesters who marched through the streets of New York for more than 30 consecutive days demanding changes in policing, the headlines emerging from the city's budget debate should have signalled victory.

"New York Police Department's budget has been slashed by $1 billion," wrote CNN.

"De Blasio Agrees to Cut NYPD Funding by $1 Billion," said the Wall Street Journal.

"NY City Council approves slashing $1B from NYPD budget," said Fox News.

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