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.
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito hasn’t taken a position on a stalled package of police reform bills dubbed the Right to Know Act—but the Young Women’s Initiative she created recommended adopting the act’s proposed policies today.
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.
More than 200 people — including a fleet of politicians — rallied outside City Hall Thursday to demand that lawmakers pass new police reform bills.
The demonstrators called on the City Council to take action on a pair of measures known as the “Right to Know Act.”
The bills would require cops to formally identify themselves during stops — as well as get proof of consent when searching individuals without probable cause.
In 2013 Mayor Bill De Blasio was voted into office with pledges to reign in police violence and stop-and-frisk policing targeted at blacks and latinos.
