City officials were concerned that pushing too hard on a police-reform bill would endanger officer cooperation on related efforts to reduce the number of summonses handed out by cops, a City Councilmember said Monday.
Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) said the concern was one reason why he agreed to revise the bill he sponsored, which requires cops to identify themselves when interacting with the public, but only when there’s suspicion of criminal activity.
The final version, which was approved by an 8-to-4 council committee vote on Monday, excludes traffic stops and other common police-civilian encounters.
“I would not be moving forward with this compromise if I wasn’t absolutely certain that the substance of what we had negotiated was fundamentally strong and represents a historic and bona-fide breakthrough for police-civilian interactions,” Torres said before the vote.
But other Democrats say the bill was too watered down to be meaningful. “I believe a false celebration with this bill will make it harder to have continued conversations that are needed going forward,” said Brooklyn Councilmember Jumaane Williams.
The bill and companion legislation requiring cops to inform civilians of their right to refuse searches when there’s no legal basis for conducting one will be voted on by the full council Tuesday.
Police-union President Patrick Lynch said his members had no input on the bills.