UPDATED: 01.30.2024 at 4:40 p.m.
On Tuesday, January 30, NYC Council held a meeting to override NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s vetoes of Int. 586-A (the How Many Stops Act: requires NYPD to report on police-civilian investigative encounters) and Int. 549-A (which would ban solitary confinement in city jails). The vote of 42 in the affirmative with only nine voting no passed the motion to override Mayor Adams’s vetoes of both bills.
NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams stated on December 19, 2023, “Int. 586 is not about capturing officers’ casual conversations and interactions to assist the public, despite rampant misinformation being spread about the bill. This legislation provides basic data and transparency on investigative stops that intrude in people’s daily lives, and creates a uniform standard of reporting to replace the current inconsistency that has contributed to severe underreporting and data gaps. These investigative stops, which disproportionately target Black and Latino New Yorkers, should no longer occur in the shadows without data to help improve public safety. The reporting required by the bill can be done simply with the smartphones issued to officers by the department, along with its advanced technology.”
She provided background on the laws development before it was approved by NYC Council: Int. 586 went through extensive negotiations with the Administration and NYPD. The NYPD offered several changes of which nearly all were incorporated, including an additional reporting requirement.
The two laws passed the NYC Council on December 20, 2023 and Mayor Adams vetoed the laws on January 19, 2024.
In a transcript of the veto, Mayor Adams stated, “I believe the City Council’s intentions were good intentions. There were parts of this bill that we agreed on. We believe that we should continue to move forward with transparency and accountability.” He went on to mention he testified in federal court against “Stop and Frisk”. “my desire [is] to have communities and police officers build a bond, a bond that they know public safety is a trust that is something that we build together. This bill hurt both areas, and that is why we’re here today. So, in no way do I want anyone to think this is an anti council veto or anti speaker veto. It is a pro public safety veto that I’m doing today.”
Mayor Adams specifically cited the inclusion Level One stops in the law as a reason for his veto. “We agree on much of the bill. But the aspect of Level 1 stops, and I don’t believe some of the people who voted for the bill … fully understand what a Level 1 stop is.” Mayor Adams agreed that data should be collected for higher level stops.
For accuracy, the bill states Level 1 investigative stops. According to NYPD Patrol Guide INVESTIGATIVE ENCOUNTERS (10/15/16) these stops are defined as: a police interaction with a member of the public/civilian for a law enforcement or investigative purpose. The uniformed member of the service must have an objective credible reason to approach the civilian. This type of encounter does not require any suspicion of criminal activity. The objective is to gather information and not to focus on the person as a potential suspect. A police officer may seek information related to the reason(s) the person was approached, such as the person’s name, address and destination if those questions are related to the objective credible reason for the approach. The officer may not ask accusatory questions. The person may refuse to answer questions and/or walk or even run away. At this level, the officer may not seek consent to search, may not use force, and may not create a situation (either by words or actions) where a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.
As for Mayor Adams’s reasons for vetoing the Solitary Confinement Ban, a statement released by mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak, said, “Instead of promoting a humane environment within our jails, the Council’s bill would foster an environment of fear and instability. It would make it harder to protect people in custody, and the predominantly Black and brown workers charged with their safety, from violent individuals.”
On January 22, NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez said on Instagram, “The How Many Stops Act will create much needed transparency for Public Safety, address disproportionate and discriminatory stops and will be achieved through simple and achievable reporting.”
After Mayor Adams vetoed the laws, Speaker Adams said, “Int. 586-A of the How Many Stops Act is a simple data bill that the mayor and the most technologically advanced police department in the world can easily implement by building on their existing practices that require recording and classifying of ‘Level 1’ and ‘Level 2’ stops. Additionally, the isolation imposed by the use of solitary confinement and policies that mirror it by any name only makes violence worse in our jails and city. Its use must be ended, and that’s what Int. 549-A will accomplish, while still allowing the Correction Department to separate people for safety purposes,” in a statement on January 26, 2024. This was when she announced, “The Council has no interest in prolonging a conversation that has been made unnecessarily toxic by the spreading of fear and misinformation, and we plan to override the mayor’s recent vetoes on Tuesday.”
Shortly after the speaker released this statement, NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler said, “Let’s do this! The Mayor’s misinformation campaign won’t stop us from swiftly overriding his vetoes. Enormous credit to NYC Speaker Adams for leading this effort to bring much needed oversight and accountability to the NYPD and ending torture in City jails.”
The Greenline 