In response to reports that Civilian Complaint Review Board Interim Chairwoman Arva Rice will step down at the direction of Mayor Eric Adams, Sala Cyril, an organizer with the Malcom X Grassroots Movement issued the following statement on behalf of Communities United for Police Reform.
“Under Chairwoman Rice’s leadership, the Civilian Complaint Review Board has attempted to fulfill its mission of providing independent oversight of the NYPD and accountability for abusive policing, despite being chronically underfunded and understaffed and without buckling to the immense pressures from the mayor’s office and the NYPD. If news accounts are accurate, it is deeply concerning that Rice’s commitment to her job was rewarded with retaliation directly from the top.
That Rice’s forced resignation comes on the heels of the police killing of Win Rozario and the NYPD’s failure to provide any meaningful accountability for the killing of Kawaski Trawick is clearly no accident. In fact, the administration’s actions to force her resignation following Rice’s public statements criticizing the NYPD's obstructions related to investigating the killing of Kawaski Trawick, look like part of the continued cover up from the highest levels in city government for the killing of the Black, gay New Yorker in his own home, while the CCRB is still pursuing a disciplinary trial against NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey B. Maddrey.
This latest news further demonstrates that the Adams administration is dangerously and systematically undermining police accountability and the power and authority of the main watchdog agency vested with the power to help protect New Yorkers from police abuse. Under Mayor Adams, police violence incidents are at their highest level since 2012, abusive stop-and-frisks are surging, complaints against the NYPD have risen by 51% and Black, Latinx and other communities are hurting from the mayor’s budget cuts to essential services and programs, while the NYPD budget has continued to expand. NYPD accountability is essential to public safety; and New Yorkers can’t afford for NYPD abuses to go unchecked.”
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.