Four community members were arrested Wednesday evening by NYPD officers outside City Hall at the Care Not Criminalization march. New Yorkers were peacefully protesting Mayor Adams for slashing city services and increasing funding to police and further criminalization.
More than 300 community members representing over 50 community organizations united on Wednesday evening to demand “Care Not Criminalization.” The march was met by hundreds of police officers who ran their mopeds into marchers and prevented them from safely crossing the street together on the crosswalk. Young people coming from school, elders, queer and trans people and hundreds of Black and other people of color were subject to harassment, brutality, and arrest for speaking out against the mayor’s reckless budget cuts to essential services and funneling of resources into criminalization and policing of New York communities.
All of those arrested were representatives of Communities United for Police Reform, a historic coalition of local and national organizations that first united to end stop-and-frisk abuse more than a decade ago and has pushed for community investments over policing statewide. CPR helped organize the rally and march with dozens of other organizations to demand #NYCBudgetJustice and push back against the mayor’s budget that cuts essential community services while the city is predicted to spend an additional $1.6 billion on the NYPD’s bloated budget, exorbitant overtime spending, and lack of accountability.
“In an attempt to silence New Yorkers, Mayor Adams assaulted and arrested New Yorkers in need of essential service,” said Loyda Colòn, a representative of Communities United for Police Reform. “This mayor and his NYPD are out of control. His police department is making our people and communities less safe. We demand all charges be dropped, and we won’t back down – on this or on our commitment to create a budget that meets the needs of 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.