As nationwide talks and protests continue around the nature and future of US police, a new brief from drug reform advocates reveals that New York City — where many of the country’s biggest protests have occurred — remains a hotbed for low-level drug arrests of mostly Black and Brown residents, costing city coffers millions.
Following weeks of protests around the country, and non-stop protests in all boroughs of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that the New York Police Department (NYPD) will be disbanding its anti-crime unit of plainclothes officers. Going forward, according to the announcement, officers will not be on active duty wearing civilian clothing and instead will be in uniform.
In 2012, Ramarley Graham, an 18-year-old black teenager, was fatally shot in his own home by a white New York City police officer, Richard Haste. Haste and other officers had followed Graham home from a nearby bodega and forced their way in, later saying that they believed Graham was carrying a gun. Graham was, in fact, unarmed.
As New Yorkers protested against racism and police brutality over the past few weeks, the NYPD was caught on video clashing with demonstrators several times: shoving a 20-year-old woman against the pavement, hitting individuals with batons, and driving into a crowd with an SUV.
Repeated police killings of black Americans have sparked the widest push for law enforcement reform in years.
The nationwide movement fueled by George Floyd’s death last month has already kick-started change in cities and states. The coming months will help to determine just how far officials go in reshaping departments — and whether Congress will join state and local lawmakers in taking steps to overhaul policing.
Policymakers across the country have targeted several major areas in their reform discussions, including:
NEW YORK — For the past few weeks, Mayor Bill de Blasio has struggled to communicate his alliance with New Yorkers troubled by police misconduct — marooning himself on a lonely island between the NYPD he oversees and a growing movement demanding it be reformed.
Now he appears to be finding some footing.
As protests over the killing of George Floyd continue across the country, momentum in New York to repeal a decades-old police transparency law appears to be gaining steam, according to activists and legislators involved in the effort, in what they say would be a major step forward in the fight for police reform.
As protesters continue to meet a massive police presence on the streets of New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city council are under pressure to defund the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and reduce its power. Momentum is building for cuts — the question is how substantial those cuts will be.
At a City Council hearing in late May, Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, urged for sweeping cuts to the proposed budget for the New York City Police Department.
“No one knows better than me that when you prioritize, fund, and shield the NYPD—instead of investing in our communities—the impact is devastating for black and Latinx communities,” she said. “In the most extreme cases, the impact is deadly. For me and my family, it means that Eric is gone forever.”
As the mass uprisings across the country continue, protestors and advocates are trying to hold public officials accountable for making real reforms.