New York Attorney General Letitia James recommended a series of new police reforms Wednesday following a month-long investigation into interactions between police in New York City and individuals protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
James released the recommendations as part of a 57-page report, which she outlined to the press Wednesday during a conference call.
"After 30 days of intense scrutiny, it is impossible to deny that many New Yorkers have lost faith in law enforcement," James said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked James to complete the report after protestors clashed with officers from the New York City Police Department in late May and early June. Those conflicts were sometimes violent, and caused mass unrest for several days in the five boroughs.
The investigation is still ongoing, James said, but the preliminary report released Wednesday included a number of reforms that could be implemented immediately by city officials, and through action from the state Legislature.
Among them was a recommendation to remove the unilateral disciplinary authority from the police commissioner in New York City, and expand the power of the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board.
Under that recommendation, the CCRB would have final disciplinary authority over allegations of misconduct levied against an officer, meaning the board would be able to fire them. That power currently rests solely with the police commissioner.
James is also recommending that a new commission be formed to oversee the NYPD, including its regulations and budget. That board, under the proposal, would have representatives appointed by city officials and decide final disciplinary appeals.
"We must change the existing structure of the NYPD, which gives the police commissioner unilateral authority. The NYPD should report to the people it serves,” James said. “The police should not police themselves, period.”
While the Legislature approved a bill last month to make police disciplinary records available to the public upon request, James said the NYPD should go further and create a searchable database of those documents. That way, people wouldn’t have to ask for them.
James also said she would support an overall shift in the role of police, taking those officers out of situations not directly related to investigating a crime. Police shouldn’t be tasked with helping the homeless or monitoring schools, she said.
“For too long, officers have been asked with little or nothing to do with solving crimes," James said. "Schools and social issues are beyond the scope and the training of the police."
The report included several other recommendations as well, such as a codified standard on use of force and an expansion of the Office of Inspector General for the New York City Police Department.
The NYPD rebuffed the report Wednesday, calling it a probe solely influenced by politics and rhetoric.
“This is of course a political and not an investigative document,” said Deputy Commissioner Public Information Richard Esposito. “Rather than rehash rhetoric we should come together — state and local law enforcement and electeds—and confront and solve the crisis at hand.”
Some of the reforms recommended by James would have to be enacted by the New York City Council or the state Legislature, while others could be done administratively. Here’s the full report: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2020-nypd-report.pdf
James said many of the reforms could also be recommended on a statewide basis, but that the report was focused on New York City.