BROOKLYN, NY: Today, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn) released the following statement after Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio announced his selection of former New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton to serve as the next Commissioner of the New York City Police Department ("NYPD"). 

 

Council Member Williams is a lead sponsor of the Community Safety Act, a package of legislation which is aimed at restoring police/community relations, including eliminating the abuse of the NYPD's approach to "Stop and Frisk" by: 1) appointing an independent inspector general to oversee the department, and 2) establishing an enforceable ban on bias-based profiling by enabling aggrieved individuals to have claims heard in a court of law.

 

STATEMENT FROM COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS

  

"I congratulate Commissioner-Designate William Bratton on his reappointment as Police Commissioner. I also keep in mind that there was no perfect candidate, and I am cautiously optimistic. One of the most pressing issues facing Commissioner-Designate Bratton is the need to take the best of what was done during the Dinkins and Bloomberg/Kelly administrations, and repair the damage done during the last twelve years due to the arrogance and seeming indifference to community complaints, such as the NYPD's abuse of "Stop and Frisk."

 

"By many accounts, Commissioner-Designate Bratton had a mixed tenure during his previous role as Commissioner. While violent crime dropped, many communities of more color felt that Commissioner-Designate Bratton was not responsive to their needs. While CompStat was ingenuitive in focusing on areas of high crime, this race-to-the-bottom, hyper-focus approach lead to the quota system, which is a central problem in Stop and Frisk. 

 

"Commissioner-Designate Bratton must be responsive to all New Yorkers and restore the faith and trust that every resident must have in order for the NYPD to effectively protect and serve New Yorkers of all backgrounds, in every corner of this city. Far too many New Yorkers have witnessed their civil rights and liberties violated under a Stop and Frisk era, as the Mayor-elect put it during his campaign, which has only bred distrust in many corners of our city.

 

"The primary difference now I believe is who the Mayor-Elect is and what lessons Commissioner-Designate Bratton learned in New York and other cities. One of the reasons I endorsed Mayor-Elect De Blasio is because he acknowledged the cries from our communities and endorsed effective remedies. These communities are looking to Mayor-Elect De Blasio for accountability in the direction that the NYPD takes. I praise Mayor-Elect de Blasio for vowing that his administration will drop the appeal in the city's suit against the Community Safety Act, the department, under the leadership of Commissioner-Designate Bratton must take the next step and reassure all New Yorkers that the NYPD will continue to reduce crime and keep our streets safe, but do so in a way that fully respects the civil rights and liberties of every resident.

 

"Commissioner-Designate Bratton can rebuild the trust of New Yorkers in the police department by rejecting any policing mechanism that relies on bias-based profiling, which is what the two-year fight to pass the Community Safety Act was all about; by establishing relationships with New York's diverse communities, including low-income, Muslim, Black, Latino, immigrant, LGBT and 'differently abled' communities and gaining their trust and support. Most significantly, the Commissioner must improve the way that officers' performance is measured, which must include how well an officer builds relationships with those that they police, instead of relying solely on stops, summons and arrest quotas.

 

"The New York Police Department has shown great promise recently by focused deterrence models, and it must continue to do so, but in a constitutional and transparent manner. In addition, organizations like I Love My LIFE, Man Up!, Inc. and Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets ("YO SOS") have been employing focused models on the ground and must have the funding they need to help our young people realize their full potential. Indeed, we must encourage and support more community groups across the city to do the same. It is also why the council's Task Force to Combat Gun Violence, which I co-chair, must continue and increase funding that it needs to fully implement its violence reduction strategy. I strongly encourage the NYPD, under the leadership of Commissioner-Designate Bratton, to focus on what has been working: a focused deterrence model, focused on on-the-ground, community groups and community policing, who work with an engaged community."

 

Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn) represents the 45th Council District, which covers Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, and parts of Midwood and Canarsie. He is the chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee and co-chair of the Task Force to Combat Gun Violence. He is also the Co-Vice Chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and a founding member of the Progressive Caucus. He was first elected to office in 2009 and re-elected in 2013.