By Madina Toure
City Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) has been getting some backlash on social media from anti-police activists following his renewed call for 1,000 new cops for the NYPD.
Lancman said the addition of new officers is necessary to ensure that the police force is not stretched too thin throughout the city, an initiative for which NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton has expressed support as well.
The City Council called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to hire an additional 1,000 officers, but he rejected the proposal.
“There’s a genuine desire on the part of New Yorkers to reform the way we do policing in the city and reform our criminal justice system, but there is this segment of our city that is genuinely anti-cop and they don’t come to that conversation from a place of respect and appreciation for what our cops do every day,” Lancman said in an interview with TimesLedger.
He believes he has been targeted because he has been outspoken on the issue of adding new cops to the police force as well as on police-community relations in general.
“I’ve been very vocal on the issue of 1,000 new cops and even developed the hashtag #1KCops in response to some of the opposing views out there,” he said.
The Safety Beyond Policing campaign, a group that opposes the city investing in hiring more police officers, has started a #NoNewNYPD petition, while New Yorkers Against Bratton is advocating for Bratton’s firing.
In one tweet, Occupy Wall Street NYC asks, “@RoryLancman what is your cut if NYPD is funded for #1kCops? You are vile.” In other tweets, the group questions his support of Bratton and his support of $97 million in spending following recommendations from #NoNewNYPD.
Lancman co-authored a police chokehold bill that would charge and prosecute police officers for using chokeholds.
Chokeholds are illegal under NYPD regulations, but the NYPD’s Civilian Complaint Review Board released a report on about 1,000 complaints in which officers used chokeholds. Only a small number of complaints were questioned.
The legislation would establish a municipal offense “of criminally negligent infliction of physical injury.”
Lancman also created the Committee on Courts and Legal Services at City Hall to form legislation to help New Yorkers navigate the legal system when they find themselves summoned for minor offenses and/or infractions within the courts.
Dde Blasio previously vowed to veto the chokehold bill in its current state.
The fact that the bill has 29 sponsors means that the bill has enough support to become law and that they may have enough members to overturn a veto. But he said compromise is an option on the table as well.
“The mayor really has to come forward with how he would like to see the bill written to earn his support,” he said.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
