22 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 25, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Quick accountability key to police reform
In the wake of a viral video
showing a cop in Queens choking
an individual on the Rockaway
Boardwalk on Sunday, June 21,
the NYPD did not waste a second
THE QUEENS
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Story: Yankees, Mets moving spring training
camps to NYC: Cuomo
Summary: The Mets and Yankees are relocating
their spring training camps from Florida to New
York due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic in
the Sunshine State, Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced Saturday.
Reach: 4,532 (as of 6/23/20)
making its response to the
incident clear.
Within hours of the video
being circulated, the NYPD
quickly identifi ed and suspended
the offi cer without pay. Th ey also
released video from the offi cer’s
body cam of the incident that
same day — something unheard
of since the department began
using them as a means of offi cer
accountability.
In two statements, including
one from Police Commissioner
Dermot Shea, the NYPD made
clear that it was taking the incident
seriously, would investigate
it thoroughly, and hold accountable
the offi cer if wrongdoing
was determined. Certainly, it
appeared from the video that
the offi cer not only broke protocol,
but also the law: cops in
New York state are now prohibited
from putting individuals in
a chokehold while attempting to
subdue them.
“While a full investigation is still
underway, there is no question
in my mind that this immediate
action is necessary,” Commissioner
Shea said of the incident. “We are
committed to transparency as this
process continues.”
Th e incident happened at a
time of great unrest in the city
and country, with much anger
directed at the NYPD for past
incidents of police brutality.
It led to repeated calls for a
host of reforms, from outlawing
chokeholds to partially “defunding”
the NYPD and allocating
resources to youth and education
programs.
Th e Rockaway choking on
June 21 could have prompted a
new wave of outrage across the
city had the NYPD not stepped
in quickly to take preemptive,
internal measures to hold
the offi cer involved accountable.
Shea and the department
deserve credit for how it handled
this incident, both internally and
publicly.
Some might suggest anyway
that the NYPD might have
jumped the gun in suspending
the offi cer pending the ongoing
investigation. But departmental
action must not be confl ated
with a court of law, where a suspect
is considered innocent until
proven guilty.
Th e video footage provided the
ample proof the NYPD needed
to take action. With the way the
video circulated, it would have
been inexcusable to have waited
days or even weeks before deciding
to suspend the offi cer.
Shea has said the NYPD
takes the calls for reform seriously.
Similar swift action in
response to future police brutality
allegations is just one way
police can rebuild trust with
New Yorkers.
Photo by Mark Hallum
Mayor Bill de Blasio (r.) praised Commissioner Dermot Shea and the NYPD for taking swift action against the police offi cer
who allegedly used a chokehold to subdue an unarmed Black man in Queens on Sunday.
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