A 911 Anti-Discrimination Bill, sponsored by Senator Kevin Parker (D-East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace), was recently signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of a package of bills for comprehensive police reform in direct response to George Floyd, pro-Black lives protests.
Parker had also co-sponsored Former Senator and Assembly Candidate for the 43rd District Jesse Hamilton’s 911 Abuse Bill in 2018.
But Hamilton along with Black Lives Matter Brooklyn Co-Founder Anthony Beckford, District 55 Male Democratic District Leader Anthony T. Jones, and other activists, last Friday, gathered at the Prospect Park BQS station entrance in Flatbush to push for a stronger 911 Abuse Bill with more criminal penalties for perpetrators.
“How can Amy Cooper only be charged with a fine? This is a slap in the face to George Floyd. This is a slap in the face to all the young people who are out there on the front lines risking their lives, and [Assemblymember] Diana Richardson passed this bill,” said Hamilton about the new bill. “This bill is so watered down, it’s not even water, it’s like vapors. It has no effect and does nothing for nobody.”
In the exact same spot in front of Prospect Park, while campaigning in 2018, Hamilton had a white female Trump supporter call the police on him for “not being American,” he said. The trauma of that incident led him to introduce legislation to combat that specific abuse of authority.
“We have to stop catering to the privilege and entitlement,” said Beckford, “we have to cater to those who are the ones who are the true victims of these crimes. Because if an officer showed up and did not recognize Jesse Hamilton, he would have been brutalized or murdered. See those are the two outcomes when it comes to being a Black man in America.”
Hamilton’s 911 Bill was a penal law that included false reporting of an incident as a hate crime. Hamilton said this new 911 Bill has no teeth and does not go far enough to protect Black and Brown people from hate crimes because it is civil, not criminal. If Black Lives really do matter we must pass a 911 Bill with criminal penalties and not a slap on the wrist, said Hamilton.
Jones, recently endorsed in his race by Kings County Democratic Party Boss Lady Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, also shared his personal story of being profiled and harassed. He co-signed the sentiment that the new 911 Bill was also watered-down legislation that didn’t give Hamilton the credit he deserves.
But incumbent Assemblymember Diana Richardson (Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Wingate, Flatbush) – Hamilton’s primary opponent sung the praises of the new 911 legislation, which she sponsored on the assembly side.
“I am proud that Governor Cuomo has immediately signed into law my bill that makes it a crime to call 911 based on a person’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation,” said Richardson. “No longer will people be able to use the 911 system to endanger others without consequence. This legislation is deeply meaningful to me, and I am honored to have played a role in effecting this long-needed change.”
Richardson said this bill had laid dormant in Albany for years because the eight members of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), which Hamilton was associated with, gave control of the New York State Senate to the Republican party.
The new law states to call 911 to report a non-emergency incident involving a member of a protected class without reason to suspect a crime or an imminent threat is a civil rights violation and illegal.
“Social media is rampant with videos of people weaponizing the 911 emergency system against African-Americans hoping to see them falsely arrested or worst,” said Parker when the legislation was passed on June 8.
“This legislation is by no means a solution to the [systemic] injustices and prejudices that fuel these types of calls to the police. However, this law gives victims of this despicable behavior the beginnings of some recourse,” said Parker.
