Mayor, City Council Reach Deal On Bills Placing Strict Requirements On NYPD Officers During Stops And Searches
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two bills designed to hold police officers accountable during stops and searches will make the city less safe, according to the police union president.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have reached an agreement on the package of proposed bills known as the Right to Know Act.
The legislation requires officers to clearly explain to someone that they have a right to refuse to be searched. The officers must also identify themselves by name and rank during a stop and search and in some cases the bills require officers to get recorded or written consent. At the end of the interaction they must provide their business card if there is no arrest, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
"It clarifies how people will have more information when an officer addresses them, clarifies how searches are undertaken," de Blasio said.
But the police union feels differently.
PBA President Pat Lynch says the legislation will put police and New Yorkers in harm's way, citing Monday's attempted terrorist attack under the Port Authority Bus Terminal and October's attack on a Lower Manhattan bike path that left eight dead.
"The 'Right to Know' bills are still harmful pieces of legislation that present a dangerous distraction from the very real threats to our city," Lynch said.
Lynch believes the mayor and Council are placing unnecessary burdens on the NYPD that hamper an officer's ability to trust their own judgment.
Police reform advocates said the bills don't go far enough.
