NYC Mayor Adams vetoes City Council bill targeting police stops, racial bias

NEW YORK - NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday that he’s vetoing the City Council bill known as the "How Many Stops Act," which would force police officers to record details of all their street interactions.

Adams used the arrest of the accused serial stabber as a prime example of why the bill would impede a quick arrest.

"If this bill was to go into law, it could have a major impact on the ability of officers swiftly bringing someone to justice," Adams said Thursday.

The Mayor and NYPD do not want officers wasting those seconds collecting basic information about every person they talk to during an investigation.

"We were able to get camera footage by knocking on doors, interacting with over a thousand people," Adams said. "I don't want our officers to spend a substantial amount of time filling out paperwork when I need them to do police work and swiftly bring someone to justice."

City Council had already passed the bill, which requires officers to document the person's age, gender, race, why police stopped the person, and whether the initial stop rises to an even higher level stop.

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who sponsored the "How Many Stops Act," called the mayor and the NYPD "fearmongers who mislead the public."

"The fact that Mayor Adams is getting his Trump on right now makes this even more difficult than it has to be," Williams said.

The goal of the bill is to determine if people of color are being stopped disproportionately by police.  

The City Council, however, has enough votes to override a veto if the Mayor decides to veto it. It's an involved process that could take six to seven weeks.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams released a statement saying they are prepared to do it.