NYC Council considers giving Civilian Complaint Review Board full access to NYPD bodycam videos
NEW YORK -- With the NYPD facing a gigantic staffing crisis, the head of the police union is waging war against what he calls the "anti-cop caucus" of the New York City Council.
Police Benevolent Association Pat Lynch is demanding lawmakers stop enacting police reform bills that, he says, are compromising public safety.
Monday, demonstrators outside City Hall joined forces with Speaker Adrienne Adams and other lawmakers demanding a new package of police reform bills, including one that would give the Civilian Complaint Review Board unfettered access to police bodycam video.
"There is clearly a transparency gap regarding body-worn camera footage that requires examination and solutions," said Adams.
The bodycam bill is just one of several measures sought by City Council progressives who are in favor of defunding the police.
Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD are facing a double-crisis: rising crime rates and a demoralized police department with officers quitting in droves.
The staffing crisis is so severe that the NYPD is 2,500 officers short of its headcount in 2019, and the department reportedly inked a $5 million contract with a Hollywood ad agency to help with recruitment strategies.
Lynch blamed the so-called "anti-cop caucus" for helping fuel the exodus of officers.
"In New York City in 2023, where most felonies remain stubbornly up over the past two years and voters continue to rank crime as their top concern, the NYPD is struggling to keep its head above water," Lynch said in a New York Daily News op-ed, "... and its primary brick-throwing opponents are those who are supposed to be helping it stay afloat: the City Council's Committee on Public Safety."
At a Public Safety Committee hearing, NYPD Director of Legislative Affairs Michael Clarke said the department is opposed to the bodycam legislation because some videos, like those of sexual assault victims, are sealed and making them public would break state law.
"It would be an insurmountable obstacle to give CCRB direct access to our body-worn camera system while ensuring they do not have access to any videos that are required by state law to be kept confidential," said Clarke.
Lynch is seeking a moratorium on new reform measures.