Demonstrators Still Going Strong In New York City As Protests Continue For Third Straight Week
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As protesters took to New York City streets for the 21st straight day, more police reform was announced for the third straight day.
The newest changes take away the luxury of time for the NYPD and force faster decisions on officer misconduct investigations.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says this new round of reforms will make the police disciplinary process faster, fairer and more transparent.
Protesters say the mayor needs to put police money where his mouth is and slash the NYPD's budget.
Following behind a drumline, protesters took to the streets Wednesday, the 21st consecutive day of demonstrations for police reform in New York City.
"We wanna see new officers in the building that really care about the people and will help us fight injustice," protester Maurice Kamara told CBS2's Ali Bauman.
Marching from Harlem down the East Side, passersby showed their support and joined in along the route.
"That's what this is about. It's about marching with the people and have everyone know it's unity, we're all together," Kamara said.
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On Wednesday, de Blasio unveiled a major overhaul of the NYPD's internal affairs bureau, expediting disciplinary investigations of police.
Going forward, if a civilian is injured, the police commissioner will now have 48 hours to decide if the officer involved should be suspended or put on modified duty, losing their gun and badge.
Investigators will then have just two weeks to probe misconduct instead of 18 months.
"People deserve to know that if an officer has done something wrong, the action involving their immediate status is very quick and that the decision about whether there will be further disciplinary action happens in a meaningful timeframe," de Blasio said.
The mayor also announced with the repeal of 50-A, the NYPD must make comprehensive disciplinary records available to the public online. The department has until July to post all 1,100 pending cases, including officers' names, charges against them and hearing dates.
"I believe that there's at least 200 officers that are still on modified duty who should be considered for termination," said Jennvine Wong, with the Legal Aid Society.
All this comes on the heels of the NYPD disbanding its undercover anti-crime unit and new rules to release police body cam footage 30 days after an officer fires their gun.
"It only goes so far as they're willing to take it," protester Hannah French said.
Protesters say they're encouraged by these reforms, but the new policies do not address their top priority, which is reducing the NYPD's $6 billion budget and reinvesting that money into community and youth services.
"There's no reason for the police to have such a large budget because the only reason why they have that is to make them feel superior to us. So by giving the people in power more money, they have more control. By taking that away from them and placing it into the communities that need it, we're all able to start rising up and become more unified and be treated equitably," French said.
The police union responded to the mayor's latest reforms, saying in a statement the changes replace "due process" with "no process."
