The New York police disbanded a crime-fighting unit with 600 plainclothes police officers who were particularly often alleged to have used violence. “It’s a big step,” said Police Chief Dermot Shea. The decision is comparable to the abolition of the unprovoked search (“Stop and Frisk”), in which blacks were particularly often brutally questioned.
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The police officers affected were often undercover on the streets of the metropolis, and activists often accused them of aggressive behavior against minorities.
According to critics, the reforms do not go far enough
Hundreds of thousands of people protested in the United States over the past few weeks following the violent death of several black people by police. They are calling for an end to racism and police violence, many of them chanting the slogan “Defund The Police” over and over again, which in German roughly means “withdraw the money from the police”.
New York State responded to the demonstrations with several new laws. For many critics, the reforms do not go far enough, according to which, for example, strangleholdings should be prohibited and documents on disciplinary proceedings should be more easily accessible to the public.
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Shea stated that the move should not be taken in response to the protests. New tasks would be found for those affected, for example as investigators and on neighborhood patrols. In total, around 36,000 patrolmen and 19,000 people work in police administration in New York.
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