How Many Stops Act remains hot-button topic in final City Council hearing of 2023
The bill is co-sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who says the purpose of it is to hold officers accountable for unlawful stops.
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The final City Council hearing of this year could bring monumental change to how the NYPD has to report their actions to the public, but not everyone is on board just yet.
The How Many Stops Act aims to increase police transparency and would require the NYPD to report many of their interactions with people on the street. The mayor is one of the many voices who have spoken out against the bill, saying this past Sunday “there is no way” he would sign the act into law.
The bill is co-sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who says the purpose of it is to hold officers accountable for unlawful stops. Police would be required to report basic information on level one, two, and three investigative encounters, including when and why the person was stopped as well as their race.
Williams says that the response to this bill is similar to the back-and-forth that took place when the Community Safety Act was passed in 2013, which dealt with the abuse of stop-and-frisk policies.
“What we’re seeing again is those lies about what the bill does, really misinformation about cops and police officers are going to have to do things for every single interaction, which is just not true,” said Williams.
Many City Council members are in favor of the bill, but other elected officials, including Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and Brooklyn Councilmember Inna Vernikov, are concerned about longer response times.
This bill, alongside many others, are on the agenda for the City Council to vote on on Wednesday. The How Many Stops Act is currently expected to pass, which will give the mayor 30 days to sign, veto, or ignore the bill.
