In the Media

DEFLECTING CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION NYPD'S BRATTON DEMONIZES RECORDERS OF POLICE ABUSE

05/27/2016
Black Star News

Communities United for Police Reform responds to Commissioner Bill Bratton’s claim that civilians documenting the police are an “epidemic” that escalates police violence against civilians.

Either Bill Bratton is desperate for national attention or is seeking to deflect from corruption investigations and his impotence in addressing systemic failed police accountability, but it could be all of the above.

Public Drinking And Urination No Longer Necessarily Criminal Offenses In NYC

05/25/2016
Gothamist

The City Council today enacted a series of bills that will give police officers the discretion to steer certain low-level broken windows offenses like drinking in public, littering, and public urination to civil court, rather than criminal court.

"Nobody who has littered or made excessive noise... should bear the brunt of the criminal justice system," said Queens Council Member Rory Lancman, a bill sponsor, on Wednesday.

Our right to know

05/19/2016
New York Amsterdam News

It is ironic that many New Yorkers are not aware of the Right to Know Act, the legislative package that aims to protect them while promoting communication, transparency and accountability between them and the New York Police Department.

Thanks to the Communities United for Police Reform, the Right to Know Act is becoming better known. Even so, there is much more our citizens need to know if they want to be treated with dignity and respect when interacting with the police.

'We Protect our Communities': Cop Watchers Speak Out

05/12/2016
NBC News

QUEENS, N.Y. — On a recent evening in a nondescript apartment building in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, a small group of young social justice activists gather for a weekly ritual.

Armed with handheld video cameras and know-your-rights pamphlets, they hash out a strategy and exchange information about police movements in the area. All write on their arms the phone number of a lawyer who will bail them out of jail if things go awry.

Right to Know Act pushed by council members, protesters in front of City Hall

04/22/2016
amNewYork
Several hundred people gathered near City Hall on Thursday, including several City Council members, to push for a vote on two pieces of police reform legislation. The two bills, which together make up the Right to Know Act, call on police to identify themselves and give out business cards during stops, as well as seek consent to search people when there is no probably cause.

Constance Malcolm, mother of Ramarley Graham, discusses Right To Know Act on NY1 The Call

04/21/2016
NY1 - The Call
Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered outside City Hall today for a rally demanding change at the NYPD. A few City Council lawmakers joined the call to improve "accountability and transparency" under Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton's leadership. Protesters want the Council to pass the "Right to Know Act" to further "protect New Yorkers against unconstitutional searches."

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