NEW YORK—Several city council members, including staunch supporters of police reform, advocated caution and consideration in reviewing police reform bills currently pending in the system. The shift in tone comes after the slayings of two police officers in late December.
Many in City Hall expressed condolences to the families of the two slain police officers and speedy recoveries for the two officers injured in a Bronx shooting Monday.
At the same time, council members said, police reforms were still high on the agenda.
After the tragedies, the City Council now has to return back to the dialogue about police use of force, said Bronx Council member Vanessa Gibson.
Several police reform bills are currently under committee review, giving council members a chance to air their opinions. Many of the bills were proposed in response to the grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer for placing Eric Garner, who was black, in a chokehold, which was a contributing factor in the latter’s death.
Gibson, who also serves as chair of the public safety committee, said after a Wednesday stated meeting that the bill that would require police to ask permission before searching suspects needed consideration.
“My greatest concern about it is the implementation of the bill,” she said, “I want to make sure that we strike a balance. I don’t want to do anything that would handcuff police officers and put them in great danger.”
She hasn’t taken a position on that bill or the one to ban the chokehold. But she does support legislation that would require officers to identify themselves to the public.
