Communities United for Police Reform Responds to Mayor Eric Adams’ Remarks on Gun Violence

Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan regarding gun violence in New York City. Below is a statement from Communities United for Police Reform spokesperson, Mark Winston Griffith, in response to Mayor Adams' announcement and plan:

“Every New Yorker can agree that we need a city in which every person feels safe and can thrive. Community safety requires a smart and multi-faceted approach when addressing violence in our city. Unfortunately, Mayor Adams has returned to the same failed playbook of centering policing, and enforcement in his plan for ending gun violence,” said Mark Winston Griffith (he/him), spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform. “This plan will indeed result in more people placed in the criminal justice system. Instead, we need a vision for public health and safety and social investment in which health services and community wellness infrastructure are prioritized and fully funded.

“Pieces of Mayor Adams’ plan support non-police safety solutions that we have been demanding for years, like expanding the Summer Youth Employment Program and providing resources for programs and organizations in communities working to interrupt violence. But these initiatives are made secondary to an approach that increases the power and reach of the NYPD, expands the notoriously violent plainclothes unit, and doubles down on dangerous police surveillance technologies. Safety and health infrastructure have been defunded for decades in neighborhoods throughout New York City while the NYPD’s scope and budget has increased. It’s long past time to invest in long-term non-police safety solutions, including expanding access to resources like wraparound services, access to health care, jobs, and education.

“Mayor Adams’ plan to rebrand the plainclothes unit notorious for harassment, violence, and brutalization of Black, Latinx, and other communities of color will only further the impunity with which this unit has operated in the past. The Mayor must seriously commit to holding NYPD officers accountable. NYPD officers who were part of the plainclothes unit and killed Eric Garner, Antonio Williams, and others remain on the force and Mayor Adams has yet to outline his plan to hold officers who engage in misconduct and abuse accountable.

“Rolling back critical reforms like Raise the Age and bail reform that communities fought for and won turns the clock back on progress. We must move forward and implement lasting solutions that create safety for all New Yorkers, not make reactionary decisions to expand policing strategies that we know don’t work.” 

About Communities United for Police Reform

Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory and abusive 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.