August 21, 2013 – In anticipation of tomorrow’s New York City Council override vote on the Community Safety Act, the Center for Constitutional Rights released the following statement:

We urge the New York City Council to override the mayor’s ill-advised veto of the Community Safety Act. Community and civil rights groups have organized for years to address the widespread abuses of stop and frisk and other discriminatory policing practices, and through the creation of an inspector general and an enforceable and expanded prohibition on discrimination by the NYPD, the CSA will do just that. These are common-sense and urgently needed measures that a supermajority of City Council has already affirmed.

 

Moreover, these measures are complementary to reforms ordered in Floyd v. City of New York last week, including the appointment of an independent monitor. The CSA, like the landmark ruling in Floyd, promises a better police department for the people of New York, one that respects the Constitution and is accountable to the people it serves.

 

It is time for the mayor and the police commissioner to join with the rest of the city in embracing urgently needed reforms of the NYPD. Together, we can build a safer, better New York that respects the rights of all New Yorkers.