Give Locals Veto Power Over NYPD Precinct Commanders, BK Pols Say

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A group of local Brooklyn civic leaders added to the rising tide of calls for NYPD reform.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and five community board chairs this week called for local veto power over police precinct commanders.

It's simply a matter of giving locals a voice in who polices their communities, Adams said in a statement.

"That’s why I’m calling on the Mayor to immediately issue an Executive Order creating community review panels comprised of community board leaders, precinct council members, and local elected officials that would be able to approve precinct commander candidates, or veto certain applicants by a supermajority vote," Adams said.

Ongoing protests over the killing of George Floyd have brought debates over police brutality and NYPD funding to the fore.

New York lawmakers recently approved a bevy of police reform bills, including one used to shield police disciplinary records from release. And Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to shift an as-yet-undetermined amount of funding from the NYPD to youth and social services, among other reforms.

But the final shape of reform — or even disbanding the NYPD — is still being debated.

It's into this swirl of protest and debate that Adams, a former NYPD captain, and the leaders of Brooklyn community boards 4, 5, 16, 17, and 18 added their own two cents.

They were joined by the 71st, 73rd, 77th, 79th and 88th precinct councils.

Together, they called for a measure to allow them to give a vote of confidence to a command candidate or to veto potential candidates for different precinct commands by supermajority.