New York City Council is considering police reform legislation and the New York Police Department (NYPD) and rank-and-file officers are angered.
Among the reforms to be considered are outlawing chokehold maneuvers and a group of bills requiring police to modify how they communicate about searches.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton shot down all of City Council’s reform proposals on Monday. The New York Post quoted Bratton, “These bills are a solution in search of a problem. Practices have been changed and oversight has been established.”
Bratton stated that City Council shouldn’t get involved in police matters and that their meddling may put officers in harm’s way.
One particular reform getting attention is outlawing police use of chokeholds. While the maneuver is against police policy, the bill would make chokeholds a punishable offense. The bill was sparked by Eric Garner’s death by a police chokehold last summer in Staten Island.
Bratton maintains the police officers using force has declined in recent years. However, the Civilian Complaint Review Board has received more than 1,000 complaints that the NYPD used chokeholds.
Another set of measures, collectively known as the Right to Know Act, would require police officers to properly identify themselves and to offer information about rights to consent for search. According to the advocacy group, Communities United for Police Reform, that, “All too often, New Yorkers have no idea why they’re being questioned, stopped or searched by a police officer.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio is aligned with the Police Commissioner and is opposed to Right to Know and the chokehold ban. Despite the mayor’s opposition, some of the bills, particularly the chokehold law, have enough support to pass City Council.
Rank-and-file cops are also angry about the proposed bills.
“These pieces of legislation have been proposed by individuals who have neither the expertise nor the experience to establish policy in the dangerous business of fighting crime,” Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said in a statement.
