Joint Statement By Senator Brad Hoylman And Assembly Member Deborah Glick On NYPD Use Of Force Saturday Night In West Village

NEW YORK -- In response to the use of force by NYPD officers against bystanders and protesters in the West Village last night, Senator Brad Hoylman and Assembly Member Deborah Glick issued the following statement:  

“Last night, bystanders and protesters in our districts in Greenwich Village were charged and pushed to the ground in a disturbing escalation of force by NYPD officers, which was unwarranted and unacceptable. The melee also appears to have cost local struggling businesses many customers, including the Cowgirl restaurant, at a time when they can least afford it.

Unfortunately, peaceful demonstrators have experienced these escalations of force by NYPD numerous times this year since protests began after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. As a result, the current fragile trust in law enforcement seems to be weakening by the day, which is dangerous to our constituents and all New Yorkers. 

We demand Mayor de Blasio strongly condemn the actions by the NYPD last evening in Greenwich Village and take action to prevent them in the future by:

• Forcing accountability for officers who violate the public trust, including with terminations;
• Releasing the names of all commanding officers and NYPD personnel who approved the deployments involved in the escalation at Hudson Street and West 10th Street last night;
• Releasing the Department of Investigation and the Law Department’s report into the violent policing of protests, which was supposed to be released on August 31st;
• Supporting moving final disciplinary authority to the Civilian Complaint Review Board; and
• Supporting passage of S7527/A10560 (Myrie/Richardson) to repeal chapter 834 of the laws of 1940, which limits the ability of localities across the state, including New York City, to provide independent oversight of police.”

###