In response to police unions seeking legal standing in Floyd v. City of New York to appeal stop-and-frisk reforms, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Joo-Hyun Kang.
On the day after New York City voters elected new leadership, city leaders and residents united on the steps of City Hall to call on the Bloomberg administration to end its fight against stop-and-frisk reforms and civil rights protections. Specifically, the group called on the administration to drop its appeal to a Federal court decision ruling its stop-and-frisk policy unconstitutional and its lawsuit to overturn a recently-passed anti-profiling law.
In response to a federal appeals court granting a stay in the decision ruling the Bloomberg administration’s stop-and-frisk policy unconstitutional, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Joo-Hyun Kang.
“It’s not shocking that after directing policing that violates New Yorkers’ civil rights and the U.S. Constitution without any remorse that Commissioner Kelly would be poorly received – and it’s unfortunate that New York City has become known for political and police leadership that defends discriminatory and abusive policing, and seeks to fight accountability.
Today, the coalition Communities United for Police Reform and representatives from community, faith, labor, and law enforcement groups joined City officials, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel to voice support for moving forward with the remedial process ordered by the court in the landmark class action lawsuit Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al.
"Once again, the NYPD’s own data shows there is no correlation between the Bloomberg administration’s unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policy and violence prevention in New York City. As the use of stop-and-frisk declined 57% from the same quarter a year ago, murders simultaneously decreased 27 percent, completely debunking Mayor Bloomberg’s inaccurate rhetoric.
Today, Council Members Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams, their colleagues, Communities United for Police Reform, civil rights and labor leaders, and New Yorkers held a press conference to express their support for a City Council override of Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of the Community Safety Act.
“Today is a victory for civil rights, safety and the people of our great city, whose voices have been heard. New Yorkers want to live in a city where equality and justice matter and today’s vote confirms those are the foundation of our city's values. We’re proud of council members who stood up for the people of New York City today and were national leaders in meeting President Obama’s challenge to ensure government policies prohibit profiling.
“Mayor Bloomberg’s comments about fingerprinting people entering NYCHA buildings is highly insulting, and his insistence that some people in the city do not deserve the same level of civil rights as others unfortunately no longer comes as a shock,” said Joo-Hyun Kang of Communities United for Police Reform.
Today, Communities United for Police Reform joined council members, civil rights leaders, and New Yorkers opposed to racial profiling to denounce Mayor Bloomberg for vetoing the Community Safety Act and expressed support for council members’ plan to override his veto.
