Mayor Adams Vetoes Controversial Police Documentation Bill

By Matis Glenn

New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a contentious bill Friday, which would require police officers to document every interaction with the public.

The bill, aimed at increasing police accountability and transparency, was met with fierce opposition from the NYPD, community leaders, and district attorneys, who argued that it would greatly increase reaponse time, result in less patrolling, and burden an already understaffed police department and justice system with compiling and combing through piles of paperwork.

Under the proposed bill, 586-A, police would be required to document the race, gender and other characteristics of people that they speak to about incidents such as finding addresses, or tracking the whereabouts of missing children.

“The hardworking men and women of the NYPD are energized by the fact that New York City has a mayor who steadfastly supports the goals of our public safety mission, which is to eradicate violence and disorder while simultaneously enhancing the quality of life of all the people we serve,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said at a Friday press conference, attended by city officials and local community figures, including askanim from the Orthodox community.

Caban said the the NYPD is “already our country’s most intently watched, deeply scrutinized, and openly transparent law enforcement agency. The measure vetoed by the mayor today is an overreach that would result in the unintended consequence of literally slowing down the city’s progress.”

Caban and the Mayor pointed to a recent reduction in crime as proof that the police are performing well under the current standard. “On our watch, there is a continuation of lower overall crime, including a reduction in bellwether indicators like murder, burglary, and assault,” Caban said.

“Terrorist plots have also been thwarted…These vital efforts will continue — and must continue, unimpeded by bureaucratic time-wasting tasks — because that is what New Yorkers expect and deserve.”

The Police Benevolent Association issued a letter for New Yorkers to send to their city council members, which stated that under the bill, police would have to spend up to three minutes filling out a form for each person they speak to while in the field, and up to 12 minutes per form at precincts.

The letter also addressed the issue of how the bill would affext district attorneys.

“I don’t want cases against dangerous criminals to be thrown out because district attorneys are unable to turn over millions of these unnecessary forms to defense attorneys as soon as they are created,” the letter read.