In the Media

Police On Strike After Black Lives Matter Protests? How Michael Brown's Death Changed Policing One Year Later

08/07/2015
International Business Times

As a boy attending Catholic school in upstate New York, Stephen Loomis would find a parked police car blocking the building’s lot on each school day, so that motorists approaching a nearby intersection wouldn’t cut through and endanger students. Loomis said he and his friends frequently went over to speak with the officer, who would occasionally pop the hood of his squad car and show off the engine.

“Suddenly, he’d get a call and then whiz off on another assignment,” Loomis said. “I remember imagining he was off to chase bank robbers.”

Lawmakers push public access to police camera footage

08/06/2015
Politico New York /

As New York City plans a dramatic expansion of the use of body cameras among police officers here, two state lawmakers are introducing legislation they say will make sure that video is available to the public.

Currently, police officers' “personnel” files—which include substantiated complaints and other records—are not subject to Freedom of Information Law requests.

New York public urination debate tests 'broken windows' theory of crime

Originator of 'broken windows' policing theory says arrests should be ‘last resort’
07/31/2015
CBC News
New York, no longer the crime-infested Gotham it once was, still has little tolerance for anyone with a full bladder and an empty wallet.
 
In a city where free public restrooms are few and far between, many resort to relieving themselves in public.

Obama’s Criminal Justice Plans: A Response to Ferguson?

07/23/2015
Chicago Monitor

Just hours after announcing the historic nuclear deal with Iran on July 14th, President Obama moved to speak about a domestic issue that had been simmering on the back burner for years. He called for far-reaching criminal justice reforms focused on reducing sentences for non-violent offenders and eliminating racial inequities within the system.

One year after Eric Garner's death, a quest for path out of 'police-community hostility'

One year ago, bystander videos captured the arrest and killing by chokehold of Eric Garner. His death began a year of bipartisan soul-searching as many began to contemplate what needs to be done as the nation moves forward.
07/17/2015
Christian Science Monitor

On a muggy, midweek evening in early July, about 700 police officers, just a week on the job, gathered at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, ready to watch a candid onstage conversation between six veteran cops and six inner city kids.

The fresh-faced newbie cops, as some of the veterans call them, were the first to graduate from the New York Police Department’s gleaming new $750 million training facility in College Point, Queens. They are also some of the first to be trained under the department’s revamped training programs.

Policing Experts Focus on Public Trust, Accountability Measures

07/01/2015
Gotham Gazette

Just one day after NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton resisted calls from City Council members pushing police reform legislation — which followed the news that 1297 new officers will be added to the force— police accountability was scrutinized by several key players, including the NYPD Inspector General, at a forum hosted by good government group Citizens

Council schedules hearing on police reform proposals

06/25/2015
Capital New York

A week after claiming victory in the administration's decision to hire an additional 1,300 police officers, the City Council has scheduled a hearing for next Monday on a series of police reform proposals, including some that are opposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD.

The public safety committee will hear nine bills, including two that have enough sponsors to pass, but fall short of having enough votes to override a mayoral veto. A third bill is two votes shy of passage.

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