Mayor Eric Adams vetoes How Many Stops Act, which requires police officers to file reports on all encounters
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NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday he will veto the How Many Stops Act, a bill intended to increase police transparency.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said she is prepared to override it, minutes after the mayor announced his decision.
Bodega workers and other New Yorkers denounced the bill at a rally outside City Hall, while the mayor and other opponents of it did not hold back.
"We cannot handcuff the police," said the mayor. "We want to handcuff bad people who are violent. That's the goal."
The How Many Stops Act would require NYPD officers to officially document any encounter they have with the public for investigative purposes. Officers would have to log the apparent race, gender and age of people they encounter.
Mayor Adams said it would take three to four minutes to document each time, saddling the NYPD with paperwork and overtime.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the bill's co-sponsor, said it would take 10 to 20 seconds via an app.
"No way can it be three to five minutes," said Williams. "It's unclear what to do when a leader of that magnitude will lie at that magnitude."
Watch: Adams takes calculated risk by vetoing police reports bill
The New York Civil Liberties Union called the veto "an affront to transparent and accountable policing," as "Black and Brown New Yorkers continue to be disproportionately subjected to humiliating stops by the New York Police Department with zero public oversight."
"Racial disparities exist at all levels of police investigatory activity," said Michael Sisitzky, with the NYCLU.
Mayor Adams pointed to the NYPD's recent search for a stabbing spree suspect in Queens, noting the department interacted with 1,000 people during the search. He said the bill would slow police down.
"Those are minutes that are being taken away of finding the person who's committing the stabbings. That's our focus. It's not paperwork, it's policework," the mayor said.
Mayor Adams said he understands logging the information after some encounters, like when police ask accusatory questions of someone who they believe committed a crime, but not for Level 1 encounters, like when an officer approaches someone and asks basic questions to gather information.
