Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio gave his annual State of the City address. Below is Communities United for Police Reform’s response to the Mayor’s speech and the policies he has prioritized for the upcoming year.
“During Mayor de Blasio’s bizarre pre-taped State of the City address tonight, he continued to pedal fairy tales about police accountability and the NYPD,” said Kesi Foster (he/him), spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform. “The Mayor said, ‘where there is accountability, there is also trust’ but trust and 'relationships' between police and communities are distractions from the goals we should be striving for. Safety rooted in power and adequate resources for Black, Latinx and other communities, with freedom from police violence for all New Yorkers, are the goals – but the Mayor continues to let the NYPD and officers operate with impunity after killing, brutalizing, and sexually harassing New Yorkers.
“The way to reduce police violence is to reduce the outsized power, size, budget, and scope of the NYPD and to fire police officers who abuse and discriminate against the people they say they serve. Mayor de Blasio is playing games by announcing ineffective reforms that do nothing to reduce the illegitimate power or footprint of the NYPD and police violence in our communities.
“Families whose loved ones who have been killed by the NYPD, including the families of Delrawn Small, Kawaski Trawick, and Antonio Williams, are being forced to wait years to see if officers will be fired. The Mayor’s reforms mean nothing without action to back it up.”
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.