BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Amid the city’s reduction in major crime over the last year, citizen complaints against police officers in Bedford-Stuyvesant’s 79th Precinct dropped more than 50 percent in 2014, according to a police official.
Civilian complaints fell from 81 in 2013 to 36 in 2014, marking a 55.6 percent decrease, city figures show.
“I’m not standing here saying my cops do the right thing all the time and speak to people the way they’re supposed to all the time. I’ll never say that,” Deputy Inspector John Chell, commanding officer of the 79th Precinct, said at a meeting this week.
“But we’re headed in the right direction and I’m proud of that.”
The announcement comes on the heels of December’s fatal shooting in Bed-Stuy that claimed the lives of two NYPD officers in the neighborhood.
Shooter Ismaaiyl Brinsley posted threats against the police on social media prior to the Dec. 20 incident, using hashtags that referenced the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown and saying he was going to “put wings on pigs today.”
The 79th Precinct’s dip in 2014 complaints showcases the largest decline out of Brooklyn's 23 precincts for the year. By comparison, the 81st Precinct, which covers eastern Bed-Stuy, saw a 19.4 percent decrease in civilian complaints.
Citing northern Bed-Stuy’s nearly 33 percent reduction in crime for the last week of December, Councilman Robert Cornegy addressed progress in the 36th District.
“You don’t get that reduction by over-policing, you get that by police and community relations that are improving,” Cornegy said at a recent community board meeting.
“Police and community relations begins right here in this room, and we determine how we are going to relate to our officers in Bedford-Stuyvesant.”
The City Council will continue to push an agenda for police reform, the councilman added. Cornegy is the co-author of a bill seeking to outlaw the use of chokeholds by law enforcement officers.
“Most of us who are rational-thinking individuals know that it’s not mutually exclusive to want police reform and safety, no violation of civil rights of your citizens, but still support your police department.”
Brooklyn CB3’s Civic and Public Safety Committee asked residents for suggestions this week on how to improve community-police relations.
“The reason we handled the unfortunate incident [Dec. 20 shooting] so calmly as a whole community was the result of building relationships with the precincts over the years,” said Brenda Fryson, the committee’s chair.
“It’s a testament to our relationship with the police.”
