Lawmakers call for comprehensive police reform in NY, nationwide

NEW YORK - Members of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus gathered at Queens Borough Hall on Thursday to call for the passage of their comprehensive police reform plan in Albany. 

The package is a collection of fourteen bills introduced over the past year and a half that covers a dozen issues, from repealing the so-called “50-a Law” that keeps police records secret absent a court order, to banning of racial profiling and chokeholds by police.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the Congressional Black Caucus is leading a similar effort for nationwide reform, with Brooklyn and Queens Congressman Hakeem Jeffries telling Good Day New York that he is reintroducing the federal ban on police chokeholds he first put forward after Eric Garner died at the hands of a Staten Island police officer in 2014.

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The bill, Jeffries says, takes its language word-for-word from the NYPD patrol guide. 

“In fact, every major police department across the country all prohibit the use of the chokehold, but yet it continues to be deployed, that’s why we need to outlaw it as a matter of law,” Jeffries said. 

Jeffries is coordinating with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who spoke to GDNY about his parallel proposals in the U.S. Senate.

“We as a nation don’t even collect the data of police abuse of force, police misconduct, the ability to hold police departments accountable by having transparency into their practices,” Booker said. 

The federal and state measures are almost exclusively supported by Democrats, but while they have majorities in Albany, it is REpublicans that remains in control of the U.S. Senate and White House.

“We don’t have bipartisan support and I’m already talking to Republicans, this might go for the next 150 days and be on the ballot in November,” Booker said.