MANHATTAN—The City Council wants the NYPD Inspector General to investigate how police track and monitor allegations of abuse following the decision of a Staten Island grand jury to not indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man, Eric Garner.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also said she wants to establish Civilian Complaint Review Board "community outreach" locations at council members' district offices to make it easier to file complaints.
“The City Council will be taking a comprehensive look at the steps we can take to find a positive outcome from the tragic events which led to the death of Eric Garner,” Mark-Viverito said in a statement.
“This is why we are formally requesting the Inspector General look into how the NYPD tracks abusive conduct and why we will be creating CCRB outreach offices across the city."
The goal of the request is to review how the NYPD handles police officers who have a record of complaints from the public about their behavior and examine how whistleblowers within the department are treated.
“The tragic death of Eric Garner is a clear call for meaningful policy changes at several levels within our city," Staten Island Councilwoman Debi Rose said in a statement.
The City Council created the Inspector General position following complaints and a lawsuit over the NYPD's stop and frisk policy in which a federal judge ruled the practice unfairly discriminated against black and Latino men.
Both then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly argued that the position was unnecessary because the NYPD already had oversight.
Philip Eure, previously executive director of the District of Columbia’s Office of Police Complaints, was appointed to the position in March.
Nicole Turso, a spokeswoman for the NYPDOIG said they looked forward to receiving the council's request.
“For several months, DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD has been reviewing questions related to the use of force and, specifically, chokeholds. We do not discuss our investigations until they are complete," said Turso.
By creating CCRB satellite offices, Mark-Viverito said the council hopes to make it easier to file complaints.
Currently, those wishing to file a complaint must travel to the CCRB's Manhattan offices to give a formal statement to start a review of the incident. The City Council believes that requirement discourages a lot of complaints.
