Press Releases

For immediate release:

August 20, 2020

CPR Statement on Release of 300,000+ Complaints about NYPD Officers

New York, NY – Today, the Second Circuit Court lifted the stay that was preventing the New York Civil Liberties Union from publishing its database of NYPD officer misconduct records that it obtained from the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the independent agency that investigates certain complaints about police abuse of civilians. The database is now live here, and it contains information about more than 300,000 misconduct complaints that were investigated by the CCRB dating back to before 1985.

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August 18, 2020

Communities United for Police Reform Condemns Police Union’s Request for Injunction in Attempt to Reverse 50-a Repeal

New York, NY -- Today, a federal hearing was held regarding the police unions’ request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the City of New York from publishing officer misconduct databases, following the repeal of New York’s police secrecy law, “50-a”.

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August 12, 2020

Mother and Family of Kawaski Trawick Outraged as Bronx District Attorney Clark Declines to Charge Officers Who Killed Trawick in His Home

Trawick Family Calls on Mayor de Blasio to Fire Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis

New York, NY - In response to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark’s decision not to charge NYPD Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis, the Justice Committee and Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) released the following statement from Ellen Trawick, mother of Kawaski Trawick.

Statement by Ellen Trawick, mother of Kawaski Trawick:

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August 4, 2020

Statement by Gwen Carr, Mother of Eric Garner, After Oral Arguments Cut Short & Recessed in Carr v. de Blasio

New York, NY - Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, reacted to the unexpected shortening and recess of today's Carr v. de Blasio oral arguments after a City Law Department attorney experienced a power outage impacting his video of court proceedings. The hearing presided over by New York State Supreme Court Judge Joan A. Madden, will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, August 5, at 11:30 AM.

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July 29, 2020

Communities United for Police Reform Moves to Intervene in NYPD Misconduct Database Case

Group That Led #Repeal50a Campaign Seeks to Enter Police Unions’ Lawsuit Aimed at Rolling Back 50-a Repeal and Re-Entrenching Police Secrecy

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July 1, 2020

#DefundNYPD Campaign: Council Budget Vote Fails to Cut at least $1B from NYPD to Invest in Black, Latinx & other Communities of Color During Pandemic

Budget deploys fuzzy math and exempts NYPD from hiring freeze as teachers, social service and other essential workers and programs are left out to dry

New York, NY (July 1, 2020) – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), the unprecedented campaign uniting New York’s organizing and advocacy organizations to end police violence and imagine a future of safety without relying on police – and the coordinator of the coalition of 200 organizations demanding #DefundNYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice – issued the following statement following the City Council’s budget vote:

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June 29, 2020

CPR Slams Mayor de Blasio & Speaker Johnson for Playing Budget Tricks to Protect NYPD Budget Instead of Social Safety Net & Programs in Pandemic: New Yorkers Won’t Accept Anything Less Than a True $1 Billion NYPD Cut & True Reinvestment in Communities

New York, NY (June 29, 2020) – Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), the unprecedented campaign uniting New York’s organizing and advocacy organizations to end police violence and imagine a future of safety without relying on the police - and the coordinator of the coalition of almost 200 organizations demanding #DefundNYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice, today issued the following statement responding to reporting on Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council’s anticipated budget announcement:

Read more about CPR Slams Mayor de Blasio & Speaker Johnson for Playing Budget Tricks to Protect NYPD Budget Instead of Social Safety Net & Programs in Pandemic: New Yorkers Won’t Accept Anything Less Than a True $1 Billion NYPD Cut & True Reinvestment in Communities

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June 23, 2020

In Letter to Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson More than 170 Community Organizations Endorse Campaign to #DefundNYPD For #NYCBudgetJustice

NEW YORK, NY — Today, more than 170 local & national organizations, brought together by Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), released a follow-up to their April letter calling on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to cut at least $1 billion directly from the NYPD expense budget by the June 30th deadline and redirect resources for FY21 to core social programs that are essential for Black, Latinx and other communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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June 18, 2020

NY Actors & Activists Release Video Call on Mayor de Blasio and City Council to Cut At Least $1B from NYPD Budget & Redirect Funds to Black, Latinx & other Communities of Color

New video features Billy Porter, Mark Ruffalo, John Leguizamo, Tituss Burgess, Claude Copeland, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kathy Najimy, Fisher Stevens, and frontline activists

Hollywood and Broadway actors from New York teamed up with activists in a new video calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council to defund the NYPD’s FY21 expense budget by at least $1B and redirect those monies to crucial services, programs and infrastructure in Black, Latinx and other communities of color. In the video, they call on Mayor de Blasio and the City Council to take at least $1 billion out of the NYPD’s bloated almost $6 billion expense budget and invest it instead in the city’s youth and communities of color – to reduce police violence and help ensure an equitable recover from COVID-19 for NYC’s Black, Latinx and other communities of color. The video was created in partnership with Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), Working Families Party, About Face and We Stand United.

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June 16, 2020

The Path Forward: How to Defund the NYPD by at least $1 Billion, Invest in Communities & Make NYC Safer

New York, NY (June 16, 2020) – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) released a new policy report on #NYCBudgetJustice which illustrates specific steps the New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio must make to cut at least $1 billion from NYPD’s FY21 expense budget to ensure that monies can be redirected to protect and strengthen essential services, programs and infrastructure that address key needs of Black, Latinx and other NYC communities of color for an equitable transition in the COVID-19 period. You can read the report here.

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