In response to the NYS Assembly's passage of A5617 today and A5946 last week, the Justice Committee released the following statement from Co-Director Loyda Colon:
The Justice Committee applauds the NYS Assembly's passage of the Special Prosecutor bill (A5617) today, as well as its passage of the PoliceStat Act (A5946) last week. As an organization comprised of people of color directly impacted by abusive policing, including family members of New Yorkers killed by police, we are deeply aware of the crisis in lack of police accountability and transparency in our state and the devastating impact it has on our communities.
The PoliceStat Act and Special Prosecutor bill are both common sense reforms that the families who’ve lost loved ones to the police we work have been advocating for, for several years. The PoliceStat Act would shed light on the realities of police killings, as well as low-level police enforcement, in New York, and the Special Prosecutor bill would address the conflict of interest district attorneys have when prosecuting officers who unjustly take lives. The Special Prosecutor bill would also expand the scope of and make permanent the Special Prosecutor executive order (eo147) that the families we work with fought for and won in 2015.
It is now time for the NYS Senate to stop putting politics ahead of New Yorkers lives and take action, as the Assembly has, to strengthen police accountability and transparency in our state.
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