CIVIL RIGHTS
Corey, Ritchie Demand Independent Probe of NYPD
City Council steps up after mayor wavers following video recordings of police brutality
BY MATT TRACY
A cop shoved a woman to the ground,
sending her to the hospital. Another
police offi cer pulled a Black man’s
mask off his face and pepper-sprayed
him. Offi cers drove an NYPD police vehicle directly
into a crowd of people. One cop pulled his
gun on an entire crowd. Even elected offi cials
were pepper-sprayed.
City Council leaders have seen enough — and
they’re taking matters into their own hands.
Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Bronx
Councilmember Ritchie Torres, who chairs the
Oversight and Investigations Committee, are
putting a check on Mayor Bill de Blasio, demanding
an independent investigation into the
NYPD’s actions during a weekend of protests —
sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands
of cops in Minneapolis — that they charged included
numerous instances of police brutality
across New York City.
The pair of out gay city leaders are especially
concerned about de Blasio’s plan to direct his
corporation counsel, Jim Johnson, to conduct
an investigation alongside Department of Investigations
Commissioner Margaret Garnett.
“Any investigation by the City should be conducted
independently, not in coordination with
or under the supervision of the Corporation
Counsel or any other offi ce or agency directly
controlled by the Mayor,” Johnson and Torres
wrote in a May 31 letter to Garnett obtained by
Gay City News.
The contents of the letter were fi rst reported
by the New York Daily News.
Torres became increasingly frustrated with
NYPD conduct over the weekend and begged
the wavering mayor to take charge as videos
of police abuse continued to proliferate on social
media. In one tweet, Torres cited examples
of the viral videos showing police abuse and
wrote, “‘Appropriate’ actions according to our
tone-deaf Mayor.”
Torres also warned on Twitter that “Calling it
an ‘independent investigation’ does not make it
so,” and said, “Corporation Counsel, a Mayoral
offi cial, has a confl ict of interest that disqualifi
es it from investigating the NYPD. It would represent
the NYPD in litigation. We cannot afford
a sham investigation that has neither the appearance
nor the substance of independence.”
Johnson and Torres are invoking Section
803 of the City Charter to direct the Department
of Investigation to probe the handling of
protest, independently of any role by the Corporation
Counsel’s offi ce. Under Section 803, the
investigation would be led by the Department
Police offi cers rough up protesters in Brooklyn on the evening of May 31.
JOHN MCCARTEN/ NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Bronx Councilmember
Ritchie Torres want an independent investigation of NYPD conduct
during protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
of Investigation’s Offi ce of the Inspector General
for the NYPD, which has investigatory authority
and is independent of the police department.
Despite that independence, Johnson and
Torres go on to warn that the inspector general’s
investigation should not interfere with the
probe underway by State Attorney General Letitia
James, who has asked the public to submit
video evidence of abuse to her offi ce.
“In addition, any fi nding by the DOI related to
criminal conduct should be referred to the appropriate
prosecuting attorney,” Johnson and
Torres’ letter stated.
The letter was representative of a broader
pushback against the mayor, who was roundly
blasted by a wide range of city leaders during a
weekend of protests that followed a slew of violent
REUTERS/ CAITLIN OCHS
racist incidents targeting Black Americans.
Among the most recent examples, beyond the
George killing in Minneapolis, are the police
killing of Tony McDade, a transgender man, in
Tallahassee, Florida, on May 27, and the daylight
murder of Ahmaud Arbery, who was simply
jogging when he was mercilessly shot dead
by white men in Georgia. Among other incidents
that have compounded the recent rash of
racism was a case —caught on viral video — of
a white racist woman who called police on an
out gay Black man, Christian Cooper, in Central
Park after he asked her to leash her dog on
May 25.
De Blasio received a barrage of criticism as
the weekend progressed, which became exacerbated
when he cast blame on protesters and
refused to immediately take action against instances
of abuse. By Sunday, May 31, there was
a stark juxtaposition: While de Blasio hesitated
on immediately punishing abusive cops, Mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta wasted no
time, swiftly ordering the fi ring of offi cers who
aggressively pulled innocent college students
from their cars and used a taser on one individual.
Johnson, who marched in protests alongside
his boyfriend Ernest J. Martin on May 31, has
also called for more expedited reform, saying in
a tweet that day, “This unrest on our streets
will not end if new instances of police brutality
happen each night. The mayor & NYPD need to
rethink their entire strategy immediately.”
Instances of NYPD abuse were also condemned
by other out gay lawmakers, including
State Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman,
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