New York–Police officers involved in the detainment of Councilman Jumaane D. Williams and public advocate aide Kirsten John Foy are being disciplined, according to the NYPD.
The police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau sent separate letters to Williams and Foy saying they found “sufficient evidence to partially substantiate your complaint.”
The duo said they received permission from a high-ranking police officer to walk down a closed sidewalk during the West Indian Day Parade on Sept. 5. While walking they were surrounded by police officers and temporarily handcuffed. Williams and Foy, who are both black, said they were attempting to present identification to the officers, and that the incident highlighted continued racial bias by the police.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed complaints with the Internal Affairs Bureau on behalf of the men, two for excessive force, and two for illegal detention. The only complaint that wasn’t substantiated, according to Williams, was the excessive force against him, which was the only complaint not documented by pictures and/or video.
“It came out to my word against the officers,” Williams said. “If my word doesn’t mean much, then what does the word of the average person on the street mean?”
Dated Nov. 2, the letters were released by the NYCLU on Thursday, along with a press release. In the letters Charles Campisi, head of the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, stated, “The department has taken the disciplinary action deemed appropriate.”
The Epoch Times received no response from the NYPD about the incident or about what kind of discipline had been taken.
Williams said he was fairly clear about the disciplinary process, though he “didn’t receive all the details,” and “we wish the process was a little more transparent.”
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