Council to override Mayor Adams after he vetoes NYC police transparency bill

Council to override Mayor Adams after he vetoes NYC police transparency bill. In a move that has stirred controversy and drawn a line between public safety concerns and police oversight, New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed two bills, one mandating increased documentation of police interactions and the other banning solitary confinement in city jails. Both bills had received approval from the City Council with veto-proof majorities, making the mayor’s opposition unusual.

Mayor Adams, a former police captain, expressed his firm stance against the bills, particularly the policing legislation, arguing that it would hinder the police and compromise public safety.

In a press conference at City Hall, surrounded by community supporters and police officials, Adams emphasized, “We cannot handcuff the police. We want to handcuff bad people for violence.”

The controversial policing bill is part of the How Many Stops Act and requires police officers to record additional details about their interactions with the public, including the race, age, and gender of individuals involved, as well as factors leading to the encounter.

The goal is to document potentially discriminatory or unreported stops, addressing concerns that arose from the contentious stop-and-frisk tactics used by the police in the past.

The mayor’s opposition is supported by the deputy mayor for public safety, the police commissioner, and the chief of department, who all joined Adams in conveying the message that the bill would impose unnecessary administrative tasks on officers, transforming routine engagements into transactional record-keeping.

While the City Council has already overridden one of Adams’s vetoes in July related to a housing voucher program, it appears prepared to override these recent vetoes as well, according to Adrienne Adams, the Council speaker. If overridden, it would be the second and third time the Council has defied the mayor’s decisions.

One of the concerns raised by the police department is the potential burden of documenting various types of interactions, beyond routine stops, as required by the bill. Police officials argue that the bill could turn casual conversations or helpful interactions, like checking on someone’s well-being during an event, into administrative tasks. The interpretation of the bill’s scope has become a point of contention between the City Council and the police department.

In response to the mayor’s opposition, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who introduced the bill with the City Council, accused Adams of spreading misinformation for political purposes. Williams emphasized that the bill distinguishes between investigative encounters and casual conversations, and the aim is not to hamper everyday interactions but to ensure accountability in law enforcement practices.

The mayor’s recent push against the bills comes amid challenges in his leadership, with the lowest approval rating since polling began in 1996, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Adams is facing criticism for various issues, including handling an influx of asylum seekers and a federal investigation into his campaign fundraising.

As the City Council remains committed to potentially overriding the vetoes, the clash between the mayor’s vision of maintaining police effectiveness and the Council’s pursuit of increased police accountability continues.

The outcome of this struggle will likely have implications for police-community relations and the broader landscape of public safety oversight in New York City.

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