Today marks the enactment of the hard-fought law to codify and strengthen the special prosecutor’s office in New York State that investigates all killings by police and deaths in police custody.
Today, after years of organizing for the legalization of marijuana, New York State is poised to pass the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA). Once it becomes law, the MRTA will be one of the most ambitious legalization programs in the country. It includes comprehensive racial justice-oriented restitution for the communities—largely Black, Latinx, and other communities of color—who have been historically harmed by marijuana policing and New York’s drug laws.
In May, just days after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, Lieutenant Bob Kroll, the bellicose leader of the city’s police union, described Floyd as a violent criminal, said that the protesters who had gathered to lament his death were terrorists, and complained that they weren’t being treated more roughly by police. Kroll, who has spoken unsentimentally about being involved in three shootings himself, said that he was fighting to get the accused officers reinstated. In the following days, the Kentucky police union rallied around officers who had fatally shot an E.M.T.
In the 18 days after the death of George Floyd, 16 states introduced, amended, or passed various police-reform bills.
We looked at what protesters are asking for and what changes have actually been implemented. While a handful of new policies met demands, most local officials and law enforcement agencies failed to fulfill expectations.
Defunding law enforcement
Lentory Johnson knows what "defund the police" means to her — and she has a perspective based on a deeply personal experience.
New York, NY – After years of organizing across New York City and New York State, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) celebrated the passage of a series of three bills collectively called the Safer NY Act that together increase police transparency and help increase accountability around New Yorkers' m
As people protested around the country in response to the death of George Floyd, the nation has seen video after video of police tear gassing, shoving, and shooting at protestors. At massive protests in New York, a police van drove through a protest, and one officer even pulled a handgun on protestors in Manhattan’s Union Square.
The following statement from Anthonine Pierre, spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform and Deputy Director of the Brooklyn Movement Center:
In response to the ongoing legislative session in New York state, the following statement can be attributed to Carolyn Martinez-Class, spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform:
