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http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01jh343w43j| Title: | Investigation into NYPD response to the George Floyd protests |
| Other Titles: | Investigation into New York Police Department response to the George Floyd protests |
| Contributors: | New York City Department of Investigation |
| Keywords: | New York (N.Y.). Police Department—History—21st century George Floyd protests Police-community relations—New York (State)—New York Police brutality——New York (State)—New York Protest movements—New York (State)—New York Riots—New York (State)—New York |
| Issue Date: | Dec-2020 |
| Publisher: | New York City Department of Investigation |
| Place of Publication: | New York |
| Description: | On May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in the course of effectuating an arrest for using a suspected counterfeit bill. In the ensuing days and weeks, people across the country engaged in mass protests, including in New York City. The protests were sparked by Floyd’s death, but quickly expanded to embrace broader concerns about systemic racism in law enforcement and whether police are held accountable for excessive force. Considering their scale and duration, New York City’s protests were largely peaceful and the actions of most police officers were appropriate. However, the demonstrations also triggered numerous violent confrontations between police and protesters and widespread allegations that police had used excessive tactics against citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. On May 31, using his authority under Section 803 of the New York City Charter, the Mayor directed the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) to conduct a review of the response by the New York City Police Department (NYPD or the Department) to the protests. This Report outlines DOI’s investigation into the NYPD’s response to protests in New York City from May 28, 2020 through June 20, 2020 (hereinafter referred to as “the Floyd protests”). For purposes of this Report, DOI focused on the NYPD’s institutional and operational systems for response to the Floyd protests, including but not limited to its planning, strategy, enforcement actions, intelligence collection and dissemination, training, and police-community relations. DOI’s investigation identified several deficiencies in the NYPD’s response to the Floyd protests that undermined public confidence in the NYPD’s discharge of its responsibility to protect the rights of citizens to engage in lawful protest. 1. The NYPD lacked a clearly defined strategy tailored to respond to the large-scale protests of police and policing. 2. The NYPD’s use of force and certain crowd control tactics to respond to the Floyd protests produced excessive enforcement that contributed to heightened tensions. 3. Some policing decisions relied on intelligence without sufficient consideration of context or proportionality. 4, The NYPD deployed officers who lacked sufficient, or sufficiently recent, training on policing protests. 5. The NYPD lacked a centralized community affairs strategy for the Floyd protests. 6. The NYPD lacked a sufficient data collection system to track relevant protest data. At the conclusion of Part I of this Report, DOI makes several recommendations to the NYPD to improve its policies and practices for policing protests. The Department should embrace the proposed reforms as part of larger efforts to repair police-community relations. At the conclusion of Part I of this Report, DOI makes several recommendations to the NYPD to improve its policies and practices for policing protests. The Department should embrace the proposed reforms as part of larger efforts to repair police-community relations. Part II of this Report examines the system for external oversight of the NYPD in New York City, and makes recommendations to strengthen that oversight, including by combining the existing police oversight functions into a single agency headed by an independent board. |
| URI: | http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01jh343w43j |
| Related resource: | https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doi/reports/pdf/2020/DOIRpt.NYPD%20Reponse.%20GeorgeFloyd%20Protests.12.18.2020.pdf |
| Appears in Collections: | Monographic reports and papers (Publicly Accessible) |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOIRpt.NYPD Reponse. GeorgeFloyd Protests.12.18.2020.pdf | 1.47 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Download |
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