On Friday, Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a package of police reforms that includes the banning of chokeholds by law enforcement in the state, repealing of section 50 to allow prior disciplinary records of law enforcement officers to become transparent, and outlawed false race-based 911 reports.
The new measures come as states and cities nationwide seek to make changes to their law enforcement systems following widespread protests over the death of George Floyd, who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
“We signed into law landmark police reform and created a new system by Executive Order requiring local police to reform & modernize with input from the communities they serve,” Cuomo tweeted. “And we made it clear: No reform – No funding.”
Honored @TheRevAl could be with us on this historic day.
We signed into law landmark police reform and created a new system by Executive Order requiring local police to reform & modernize with input from the communities they serve.
And we made it clear: No reform – No funding. pic.twitter.com/FGW09P8jzu
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 12, 2020
Members of New York City’s Council on Friday also came out in support of a plan to cut $1 billion from the city’s police budget, saying they have identified areas of potential savings.
