STATEMENT: Supporters Call for Passage of Critical Police Transparency Legislation

Today, in the lead-up to this week’s City Council vote on police transparency legislation, the How Many Stops Act (HMSA), Communities United for Police Reform Spokesperson Jose Lopez, and the mothers of Anthony Baez and Sean Bell released the following statements in support of the bills:

“Due to Mayor Adams’ policies, stop-and-frisk is at an all-time high since 2015, disproportionately impacting Black and Latinx communities throughout the city,” said Communities United for Police Reform Spokesperson Jose Lopez, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York. “Full transparency of NYPD street stops and investigative encounters is an essential and urgent step in preventing the kinds of sweeping police abuses that are increasing under the Adams administration. Mayor Adams knows that the kind of reporting required by the How Many Stops Act is simple and doable. In the age of smartphones, reports like these can be accomplished in a matter of seconds. So the real question is, why are the mayor and his police department fighting so hard to avoid transparency?”

“In November of 2021, Eric Adams looked me and other family members of those killed by the NYPD in the eyes and told us that he would support legislation to require reporting on level 1 and 2 encounters and consent searches as mayor,” said Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez (killed by the NYPD in 1994). “The NYPD may split hairs over the differences between the level of the stops, but the reality for the New Yorkers being approached and questioned by armed officers is, the experience is terrifying and dangerous. These so-called low-level stops by the NYPD can easily escalate to brutality or even death as happened with Eric Garner, Antonio Williams and the loved ones of too many other families. The mayor must sign the How Many Stops Act into law, or it would just be another enraging and disappointing broken promise from a mayor who cares more about protecting abusive officers than delivering transparency and accountability to Black and Latinx New Yorkers.” 

“The How Many Stops Act is an easy-to-implement reform that will give us the transparency we need to advance police accountability and community safety and the Mayor should welcome this,” said Valerie Bell, mother of Sean Bell (killed by the NYPD in 2006). “I’m saddened that Mayor Adams might stand in the way of positive police reform and break his promise to families who’ve lost loved ones to the police and advocates to support police transparency.”
 

For more on the How Many Stops Act, click here.

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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.