Por Tyler Clifford
NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) – An independent review board of the New York police has recommended that the department discipline dozens of officers for excessive use of force and other alleged misconduct during protests that followed the killing of George Floyd in 2020, according to a report released Monday.
Among the complaints, officers were found to have used batons and pepper spray against peaceful protesters on 140 occasions.
The Civilian Complaints Review Board report notes that dozens of allegations of abuse of authority were also confirmed, including officers refusing to identify themselves, hiding their badges, and making false or misleading statements.
More than 600 of the misconduct complaints, or 43%, were closed after the officers could not be identified, posing a major hurdle in the board’s review, according to the report.
“This report demonstrates why the NYPD can no longer have a monopoly on discipline,” Molly Biklen, deputy legal director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
“When New Yorkers took to the streets calling for racial justice in 2020, the NYPD responded with violence.”
Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of New York for weeks in demonstrations against police brutality days after Floyd, a black man accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer pinned his neck to the ground. on one knee for several minutes in May 2020.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) took issue with many of the report’s conclusions, stating that less than 15% of all complaints were substantiated. In a statement, he accused the board of exaggerating the scope of the misconduct, saying it affected less than 1% of the 22,000 officers deployed during the protests.
The fact that fewer than 15% of the allegations against officers have been confirmed shows “that the NYPD’s response to the summer 2020 protests was largely professional, commendable, and tailored to the unique circumstances at the time.” “Carrie Talansky, acting deputy commissioner of the NYPD, said in a statement.
Hundreds of officers were injured and the department had already implemented many of the 17 policy changes recommended by the board, the NYPD said.
“Protests against police brutality have led to more cases of police misconduct,” CCRB acting chair Arva Rice said in the report. “If this misconduct is not addressed, it will never be reformed.” (Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Editing in Spanish by Juana Casas)
Reuters
