By Carlin Ross
NEW YORK – The New York City Department of Investigation has released its report on the NY Police Dept. misconduct during this summer’s protests against the killing of George Floyd and police violence against the Black community.
The 111-page report carefully outlined every step of police misconduct and suggest methods for more successful police oversight. The report was highly critical of NYPD’s actions.
The report suggests finding a new police oversight model to “identify[s] features that may generate a perception of improper bias for or against law enforcement, and strive[s] to minimize those 
potential effects.”
However, the Black community is wondering if action will take place outside the study’s suggestions.
“It has taken months for the city to acknowledge what was clear to anyone paying attention this summer: the NYPD’s handling of the protests amounted to an unconscionable, calculated, and violent attack on the entire city. The report lays out a clear picture of a police department that does not see itself as accountable to the communities it is meant to serve, and a Mayor that is unwilling and incapable,” said Justine Olderman, Executive Director of the Bronx Defenders.
In her statement, Olderman also charged police misconduct was “across the board,” meaning the police weren’t interested in the quality of arrests, but the quantity.
She noted that while the report recognized the injustice, “the NYPD made a deliberate decision to target the predominantly Black and brown protestors in the South Bronx on the night of June 4th with a higher level of violence than in other boroughs.
“In response to the protests against police brutality, the NYPD did not seek to prevent violence. It was the violence,” Olderman continued.
In conclusion, Olderman stated that “the NYPD has thus resorted to blame-shifting and fear-mongering in response to widespread commendation by New Yorkers shocked by what they saw. This level of institutional rot cannot be excused, explained, or reformed.
“By shrinking the policing footprint entirely,” New York “can invest in services and programs that actually have an interest and commitment to uplifting our Black and brown communities,” she said.
Carlin Ross is a senior at Santa Clara University who double majors in English and Philosophy. She’s originally from Bozeman, Montana.
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