NYC Council Unveils Sweeping NYPD Reform Bills

NEW YORK CITY — A raft of City Council bills could significantly reshape how NYPD officers face discipline, the role of its leadership and the role of cops in local communities.

The 11-bill package unveiled Friday also sidesteps Mayor Bill de Blasio to meet a looming state deadline to enact police reforms.

Indeed, an official City Council statement characterizes it as action “despite months of delays from the de Blasio Administration” to comply with an order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to come up with a reform plan by April 1.

“This legislative package will be just one of the steps the City Council is taking toward reforming policing,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement. “It is critical that we redefine public safety and reduce the NYPD’s footprint. From mandating that the Council confirm incoming police commissioners to ensuring non-carceral interventions to community safety, this legislation will bring much-needed transparency and accountability to New Yorkers.”

De Blasio has bristled at Cuomo’s repeated insinuations that the city hasn’t taken meaningful steps on police reform following the George Floyd protests. Hizzoner instead pointed toward years of past action and touted his own proposals rather than start the open community dialogues requested by Cuomo’s order.

The City Council’s announcement Friday appears to cut de Blasio out of the process.

The bill include a proposal to remove the police commissioner’s final authority on discipline — a reform that would give more power to the independent Civilian Complaint Review Board.

“In order to take a truly reformative approach to public safety in New York City, we must take aggressive steps to ensure that New Yorkers have confidence in our ability to provide real accountability within the Police Department,” Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement. “And I believe this can only happen if an independent entity—CCRB—is allowed to impose discipline. I am proud to lead the charge on just one of many necessary reforms.”

Other bills call for giving the Council confirmation power over commissioner candidates, investigating cops with a history of bias and ending qualified immunity for officers.

Council Member Stephen Levin, who sponsored the qualified immunity bill, said it would uphold New Yorkers’ civil rights against illegal search and seizure. Essentially, cops could now face action if they are found to violate civil rights, he said.

“The legislation is not intended to be vindictive—the personal liability is limited—but it seeks to ensure greater accountability, which is essential to fostering greater trust between communities and police,” Levin said in a statement.

The bills also include proposals to take the authority to grant press passes away from the NYPD, create a non-police response for mental health emergencies and reform safety agents’ role so they can “no longer make arrests, carry weapons or mechanical restraints, or wear law enforcement uniforms.”

All the bills will be up for public hearings in February.

Read more about them here.