In response to the Police Benevolent Association’s lawsuit announced today in attempt to remove the Civilian Complaint Review Board’s (CCRB) charter amendments, Communities United for Police Reform has released the following statement from spokesperson Carolyn Martinez-Class:
“Once again, the NYPD's main police union is attempting to undermine democracy and subvert the will of New Yorkers by suing to overturn a police accountability ballot measure that New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted for this past fall. In the lead up to the November election, police unions spent over $127,000 in just five days to defeat this measure and protect cops' right to lie without consequence in police brutality investigations. In spite of police unions' massive injection of cash and baseless fearmongering, New Yorkers voted for police accountability. This latest PBA attempt to gut democratic processes with legal maneuvers and lies should be understood as a dangerous play to protect officers who lie and cover-up police violence – and it should be rejected and criticized by the court and all New Yorkers.”
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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.