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New bill to have NYPD to document public encounters
FOX 5 NY's Lisa Evers has a closer look at what the bill hopes to accomplish.
NEW YORK - This week the New York City Council is expected to vote on a controversial bill requiring the NYPD to document more of their encounters with the public.
Co-sponsor Jumaane Williams, the NYC Public Advocate, says it is needed to prevent racial profiling, but police officials say it's not necessary and would reduce public safety.
Williams says he is trying to ensure that the NYPD is not under-reporting stops of Black and Brown New Yorkers by documenting every encounter for an investigative purpose. He denies claims it would require police to note every single conversation.
"It doesn't deal with every stop that an officer makes," Williams said. "Someone asking directions, saying hello, even asking about the neighborhood, is its something we should know about? That is not what we're talking about."
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey is concerned it could damage police-community relations.
"The way the language is written right now, it would require our cops to document a lot of unnecessary conversations," Maddrey said.
The documentation would happen on the officer's smartphones, and just be several questions about race, ethnicity and gender, says Williams.
Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to veto the bill if, as expected, it passes.
A City Hall spokesperson told FOX 5 NY, "New Yorkers are safer than they were two years ago. But Intro. 586 would be a big step backwards. Under this bill, police officers would spend less time keeping New Yorkers safe and more time filling out paperwork."
Chief Maddrey says there are already many methods of monitoring officers' actions and would alert supervisors if they cross the line.
"We just go back to the street corner where it allegedly happened, and then we're able to find out exactly what happened. We're able to find documentation through video cameras, body cameras if it's an incident involving the police," Maddrey said.
"What we don't want to see and what we've seen far too often in the over-policing in certain communities," William said.
Paul Di Giacomo, the President of the Detective's Endowment Association says the bill could impact the ability of detectives to investigate crimes and make arrests.
"The City Council should really start coming up with laws to protect the victims of crime and stop trying to protect the criminals that commit the crimes," Di Giacomo said.
The bill has wide ranging support from the Brooklyn bough president, city council, speaker, and Minnie council members. Three of the five borough district attorneys oppose it. A vote is expected Wednesday.