In the Media

Report Prompts Questions About NYPD Watchdog’s Role

Oversight agency referred bulk of complaints last year to NYPD’s own investigative arm
03/31/2015
Wall Street Journal

The city agency created to increase oversight of the New York Police Department referred more than half of the complaints it received last year to the NYPD’s internal investigative body, according to a new report, prompting some to question the effectiveness of an entity intended to act independently of the department it oversees.

Groups, officials want Cuomo to strengthen criminal justice proposal

03/19/2015
Amsterdam News
Some New York state senators and Assembly members have linked up with civil rights advocates and community groups. With the Legislature holding a hearing on criminal justice reform, they have announced their support for strengthening the governor’s “Executive Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2015” proposal in the 2015-2016 executive budget to require reporting on policing data.

NYPD To Create New Unit To Investigate Cop Shootings

The unit will reportedly be modeled after a similar division at the LAPD. There are already several agencies dedicated to investigating the NYPD’s use of force.
03/18/2015
BuzzFeed
The New York Police Department wants to create a unit to investigate incidents in which cops shoot civilians, the Staten Island Advance reported. If the Force Investigation Division, as it’s being called, comes to fruition, it will be one of numerous agencies that has the authority to investigate a police-involved shooting.

Advocates, lawmakers urge Cuomo to appoint special prosecutors

03/17/2015
Capital NY

Dozens of advocates were joined by black and Latino lawmakers for a rally outside the Senate chambers in the Capitol on Tuesday, asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to appoint a special prosecutor when a civilian dies during police interaction. Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez, who died in 1994 after an apparent chokehold during a police encounter, urged Cuomo to sign an executive order to appoint a special prosecutor as soon as possible.

DOJ names six cities for program to reduce police, community tension

Eric Holder announces a six-city effort designed to reduce long-standing tension between police, communities
03/13/2015
Al Jazeera America

Calling the “heinous attacks” on two Ferguson police officers “repugnant,” Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that six cities were selected for a new program designed to resolve the kind of long-standing tensions between law enforcement officers and their communities that contributed to unrest in Missouri and

Progressives Demand Cuomo Appoint Special Prosecutor for Cop Cases

03/12/2015
Observer

Members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus today joined with minority activist groups to demand Gov. Andrew Cuomo appoint special prosecutors in police killings—and to trash the governor’s State of the State proposal to create an independent monitor to review grand jury proceedings when a cop is found not guilty of a crime.