NYPD Pulled Over Councilman Yusef Salaam as Vote Looms on Police Oversight

NEW YORK (New York Daily News/TNS/Hamodia) — “Central Park Five” City Councilman Yusef Salaam says police stopped him without explanation as he drove with his family through Harlem on Friday night — an incident that comes as the City Council plans an override vote on Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of a bill that would require cops to document their street stops.

Salaam said he “was listening in to a call with my Council colleagues on speakerphone” when he was stopped at 6:20 p.m. on 125th Street near 12th Avenue in Harlem.

“I introduced myself as Councilman Yusef Salaam, and subsequently asked the officer why I was pulled over,” Salaam said in a statement. “Instead of answering my question, the officer stated, ‘We’re done here,’ and proceeded to walk away.”

Salaam, who was just named chairman of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said that the officer should, at the very least, have explained why he was being pulled over. If the How Many Stops Act bill is made law over Adams’ veto, the cop would have also taken down Salaam’s name and filed a report about the stop.

“This experience only amplified the importance of transparency for all police investigative stops, because the lack of transparency allows racial profiling and unconstitutional stops of all types to occur and often go unreported,” said Salaam.

The NYPD released the officer’s bodycam video on the incident, in which he asks the driver to roll down his back window. When the driver identifies himself as Councilman Salaam, the officer mentions that he seems to be on official business, and wishes him a good night. It does not show Salaam asking why he was pulled over nor the officer saying “we are done here” before leaving. The entire interaction took about 40 seconds.

Along with the release of the video, the NYPD also released a statement in which it explained that the councilman’s car, which had Georgia license plates, had dark tint windows which are illegal in New York State.

“As the video shows, throughout this interaction, the officer conducted himself professionally and respectfully. He followed all proper procedures, including procedures. This officer should be commended for his polite, professional, and respectful conduct and for using his discretion appropriately so the councilmember could complete his official duties.

“To be clear, however, last night’s exchange was not a Level 1 interaction, as any vehicle stop is, by definition, a Level 4 encounter since the officer had probable cause of a violation of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. And following NYPD procedure, all vehicle stops are already properly documented with a vehicle report, as was done here.”

Patrick Hendry of the New York City Police Benevolent Association President said that the video exposes the lies being spread about the incident, and “shows the truth about the outstanding, professional work our members do every day. This Council member and every other elected official who baselessly smeared our police officers owe them an apology.”

Mayor Adams seemed to agree with the police’s version of the stop, stressing that “we also appreciate and commend the NYPD for following all proper police procedures and being respectful during last night’s interaction, as the video and vehicle stop report show.“

Salaam on Friday had agreed to attend a Saturday night NYPD ride-along with other City Council members in the hope of better learning how cops deal with the public while responding to calls.

But after the incident, Salaam, who was exonerated after spending years in prison as one of the “Central Park Five” teens accused in the 1989 Central Park jogger rape case, canceled his plan to attend the event.

“While it is imperative for all of us as New Yorkers to understand the difficult tasks that we ask the NYPD to take on, it is also critical to understand the lived experiences of those subjected to unjust police stops in this city,” he said.

“Many of us in the Council know what it’s like to feel vulnerable and powerless when stopped by an officer, because we have personally experienced triggering interactions like I had last night.”

About 10 council members had agreed to go on the Saturday evening ride-along. The legislators were expected to meet at the 28th Precinct station house on Frederick Douglas Blvd. at about 5 p.m., watch a police roll call and then go on patrol with officers.

Mayor Adams, who insiders say is using the ride-along to encourage legislators not to overturn his veto, is also scheduled to attend.

Salaam’s council colleagues railed against Friday’s stop, with Democratic Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers calling the interaction “a glimpse into what every day Black and Brown New Yorkers encounter.”

Adams said he vetoed the How Many Stops Act because requiring cops to document every one of their stops would take too much of their time from policing. The bill is “extremely detrimental to public safety,” Adams said.

Adams announced the veto Jan. 19. The Council will hold its overturn vote on Tuesday.

The How Many Stops Act, which passed the Council last month, lays out three levels of police encounters that cops would have to document. Supporters said the law would prevent the return of the kind of biased law enforcement the city saw during the Bloomberg-era peak of stop-question-and-frisk policing.

Salaam has vowed to seek the override of Adams’ veto ever since the mayor vetoed the bill. He and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams have accused the mayor of peddling a “false narrative” about the bill with an aim to “mislead and incite fear” among New Yorkers.