Police oversight
After the volatile protests against police brutality and systemic racism last summer, more than 750 complaints were filed against New York City Police Department officers for their treatment of protesters. However, the details of the investigations into these complaints have yet to be disclosed.
The New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, the largest police watchdog organization in the country, is in charge of investigating complaints made against the police and providing the NYPD with disciplinary recommendations, as well as recommendations for any changes they think should be implemented within the NYPD. The board investigates complaints regarding use of force, “discourtesy,” abuse of authority and allegations of sexual misconduct.
On a recent Friday evening, the rabbi asked a congregant to sing a traditional song based on Psalm 133, “Hinneh mah tov umah na im, Shevet achim gam yachad,” which means “Behold how good and how pleasing, to sit together in unity.” Except she wasn’t singing the tune as I learned it in the summer of 1948 at the age of seven. The rhythm and cadence I remembered was a version being sung in Israel, like many of the songs we learned that summer. For years we were fired by the Israeli example, by the kibbutzim or farms on which people shared everything, and by the struggle for independence. I grew up thrilled by their example and wanting to learn Hebrew the better to enjoy traveling there – until our Temple kicked me out because I‘d become a young critic of our Sunday school and refused to go.
Back
ALBANY â New Yorkâs corrections officers union filed suit Monday to overturn a new state law that will restrict the use of solitary confinement to punish incarcerated people in the stateâs prison system.
The state Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Albany on Monday against the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and DOCCS Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci over the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, commonly known as the HALT Act, on behalf of the stateâs 18,000 correction officers.
âOnce again, our elected leaders have failed us â our members didnât sign up for this,â NYSCOPBA President Michael Powers said Monday outside the federal courthouse in Albany. âThis New York state Legislature, Governor Cuomo, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision have sided with the criminals and enacte
M. Spencer Green / AP
Advocates for voting rights in New York celebrated last week, when the governor signed a law restoring the right for people on parole. Now they say the real work begins.
The bill passed the state House and Senate last month. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it into law Wednesday, with it taking immediate effect.
Erika Lorshbough is Deputy Policy Director for the New York Civil Liberties Union or the NYCLU.
“The thing we’re really celebrating is that even though there have been opportunities for people to vote since the executive order in 2018, a lot of the time people on parole have not known if they’ve had the right to vote,” Lorshbough said.
SHARE:
A not-so-friendly four-legged friend briefly joined the New York City Police Department this year, shocking New Yorkers in viral videos when it was deployed in response to a hostage situation in the Bronx, and later in a public housing building in Manhattan.
The tool – a 70-pound robot made by the company Boston Dynamics that is capable of transmitting video, sound and two-way communication – sparked an outcry about an overreach in the kinds of police surveillance that New Yorkers are exposed to.(The device was first tested and deployed by the NYPD last year.) Police have touted the so-called “digidog” for its ability to evaluate the safety of a scene, such as a hostage situation, and make officers aware of any potential threats before going in themselves.Facing scrutiny of the tool, department officials have countered that robots have been used to assess dangerous situations and diffuse bombs for decades.