NEW YORK – Officers with the New York Police Department will be forced to report every public contact — even minor interactions — after the City Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of the “How Many Stops Act.’’
Adams, who stridently fought the bill in recent weeks, failed to convince the two council members he needed to beat the override, which passed by a whopping 42-9 vote, the New York Post reported.
The Democrat-led council also voted to override Adams’ veto of another bill, which prohibits solitary confinement in NYC jail facilities.
“These bills will make New Yorkers less safe on the streets, while police officers are forced to fill out additional paperwork rather than focus on helping New Yorkers and strengthening community bonds,” Adams said in a statement following the vote.
“Additionally, it will make staff in our jails and those in our custody less safe by impairing our ability to hold those who commit violent acts accountable.”
Michael Goodwin wrote an editorial piece published by the New York Post. He said, “For New Yorkers confused about the battle between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council over a law requiring police officers to submit a record of virtually all public interactions, here’s your clarity: The City Council hates cops.”
Goodwin goes on to say, “Everything else is detail,” while referring to the highly controversial bill as “another nail in the city’s coffin.”
“Not a single New Yorker will be made safer, nor will any form of justice be made fairer,” Goodwin writes. “Those are the common-sense litmus tests for imposing added restrictions on police actions, and this law fails both.”
Goodwin notes, “The measure reflects only the anti-police bias of the reigning council majority, led by Speaker Adrienne Adams of Queens.”
Though it’s not Goodwin’s summation, it reads like one: “In truth, it’s harassment based on an illogical mistrust and is designed to burden cops who do their jobs and intimidate others into being little more than blue flowerpots.”
