CPR Slams Mayor de Blasio’s Illegitimate & Dangerous Police Reform Plan

New York, NY – Today, Mayor de Blasio released his proposed police ‘reform and reinvention’ plan, in response to Governor Cuomo’s executive order 203 mandating municipalities to submit plans to New York State by April 1^st. The Mayor claimed that this plan was developed with community input, however, he allowed the NYPD to lead and control much of New York City’s process of developing this plan and the First Deputy Mayor’s office dismantled a multi-stakeholder committee last year after just one meeting.

The NYPD attempted to create an illusion of community engagement—a requirement of the executive order—by holding virtual events, but these events served as NYPD propaganda sessions and did not include many of the organizations with the most significant and long-standing experience fighting police violence or the many family members whose loved ones were killed by the NYPD and who help lead NYC’s police accountability movement.

Below is a statement from Communities United for Police Reform’s spokesperson and Executive Director of the Justice Committee, Loyda Colon:

“From the process to the result, the Mayor’s proposed plan is an illegitimate and dangerous sham,” said Loyda Colon (they/them), spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform and Executive Director of the Justice Committee . “Instead of taking the opportunity to redefine and strengthen safety for all New Yorkers, reckon with the racism inherent to policing, and reduce the outsized power, size & role of the NYPD, the proposed plan is full of cosmetic reforms that will do nothing to reduce police violence or increase safety. If adopted, it will serve as a public relations tool for the NYPD, while expanding their already outsized power and bloated budget.

“The plan is a bait-and-switch, full of lies and false claims, starting on page 2 where the City claims ‘we ended the racist policy of stop-and-frisk’ in spite of current racial disparities in stops that are no different from the Bloomberg era.

“This isn’t a plan that rethinks safety or policing – it’s a PR plan for the police. There isn’t one recommendation in the report that will directly reduce police violence, lead to the firing of abusive officers, or reduce the NYPD’s outsized power or bloated budget.

“One of the Mayor’s proposals includes ‘consolidating NYPD oversight by expanding the authority of CCRB to include the powers of the NYPD Inspector General (IG).' This is backwards and only benefits the NYPD by moving the IG’s office from an agency that the NYPD doesn’t control to an agency where the NYPD Commissioner appoints board members.

“While the Mayor claims that this plan will provide greater transparency and accountability, there are still officers on the force who are responsible for the killings of Eric Garner, Delrawn Small, Antonio Williams, Kawaski Trawick, and others. The Mayor and his administration shouldn’t be trusted when they talk about ‘reforming’ the NYPD, when they won’t even do the bare minimum and fire officers who kill New Yorkers.”

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.