New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Dermot Shea today warned city lawmakers that the new police accountability laws have further handcuffed police ability to keep the city safe as the city is seeing a large uptick in shootings and murders.
Speaking on CNN, Shea gave his ominous warnings after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a number of police reform laws including making it illegal to put suspects in a chokeho0ld or put any pressure on a defendant’s neck, back or chest that could obstruct their breathing. Cops who do so will now face misdemeanor charges.
Shea said the laws were pushed through by a small group taking advantage of the national uproar over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
“We can’t have one percent (of the city) driving agendas for the 99 percent and law enforcement,” Shea said he said. “These new laws are handcuffing the police.”
The new laws also require cops to develop standard disciplinary procedures, outline the different types of surveillance technology it uses, publicize disciplinary complaints filed against officers and force cops to display badge numbers.
“The Black Lives Matter movement has been at the forefront of change in New York City and across our nation. I’m proud to sign these sweeping reforms into law and honor the work they’ve done,” said de Blasio at the signing of the package.
According to the Daily News, unions for the NYPD, FDNY and the Department of Correction have already challenged the city’s plan to put disciplinary records online on the grounds that many of the disciplinary records include “unproven and even un-investigated” allegations.
The Daily News also reported that the union representing New York state troopers demanded all of its members to leave the city because the new reform laws “opens them up to criminal and civil liability for restraining a person during a lawful arrest in a manner that is consistent with their training and is legal throughout the rest of the state.”
But several city lawmakers praised the police reform legislative package.
“I thank my colleagues and the mayor for supporting the historic and swift passage of this reform package. The badge blocking bill, which is now law, will go a long way in ensuring New Yorkers can identify officers they interact with and will provide them with a path of recourse when and if those officers do not comply,” said City Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D-Brownsville.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said the city is in a moment when the need to protect public safety and the need to re-define it are more intertwined than ever.
“The solution lies in each entity, civilian and law enforcement working together to keep our communities safe and combat violence- and in allowing for transparency and accountability when that obligation is not met,” said Williams. “We cannot give into the false and destructive notion that communities must choose between accountability and transparency in policing or safer streets. The people of this city deserve both. Working together, we can provide it.”
