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Rev. Sharpton Commends Cuomo for “Raising the Bar” with Sweeping Police Reforms
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(New York, NY) — Three weeks after the death of George Floyd, politicians in New York are reacting to demands from protestors to implement better policing practices. On Friday, June 12th, 2020, New York Governor Cuomo signed a sweeping series of reforms that will force the structural reorganization of police departments across the state.
The reforms signed included the repealing of the historic 50-a bill which will allow the disciplinary records of the police officers, including records of misconduct, to be publicly disclosed. Also signed was the Eric Garner bill — a bill that Rev. Sharpton and NAN have been actively pushing for — which will ban New York officers from using chokeholds.
In addition to these new policy reforms, Cuomo signed an executive order that will force New York police agency to modernize and implement non-violent, anti-bias, and restorative-justice policing practices. If they do not comply with specific measures and standards by April 1st 2021, agencies will not receive funding from the state.
As NAN, alongside Gwen Carr — the mother of Eric Garner — has been long involved with pushing these items of legislation forward, Rev. Sharpton, and Mrs. Carr were present today as Governor Cuomo signed the bills into law. According to Rev. Sharpton, Cuomo is leading the nation with these new reforms. “This is a great day for advocates,” Rev. Sharpton said. “(Cuomo) has raised the bar with how we deal with policing.”
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