New York has quickly taken tangible action after protesters and celebrities called for greater transparency in police departments statewide.
New York's state Senate voted 40-22 on Tuesday to repeal 50-A, a section of a state law that blocks police disciplinary records from the public. The law has been around for decades and activists have wanted it gone for years, but a wave of letter-writing campaigns, protests, and celebrity support finally made it happen.
Starting Monday, the New York state legislature has churned through a wave of police reform bills. That includes a ban on chokeholds — which was already in place in the NYPD for years before an officer used a chokehold and killed Eric Garner. It also includes the repeal of 50-A, which was enacted in the 1970s and blocks the release of "all personnel records used to evaluate performance" of police officers unless allowed by a court or judge. The NYPD recently "fought in court to expand the interpretation of the law" so it includes records of disciplinary hearings, The New York Times describes.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After the killing of George Floyd sparked protests across New York and the country, New York state Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx) introduced a proposal to repeal 50-A. The majority-Democrat Senate passed the bill, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has promised to sign it. Bailey highlighted the history of 50-A in a Tuesday statement celebrating its repeal, saying this move "will help restore public trust in law enforcement." Kathryn Krawczyk
-
The Taliban wages war on high-speed internetTHE EXPLAINER A new push to cut nationwide access to the digital world is taking Afghanistan back to the isolationist extremes of decades past
-
The US and Colombia renew their feud over the drug warIn the Spotlight The US has accused Colombia of failing in its drug-fighting efforts
-
‘The problem isn’t solved by simply swapping out the faces on screen’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
