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| De Blasio’s Tough Talk on Police Reform Rings Hollow | De Blasio’s Tough Talk on Police Reform Rings Hollow |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Mayor Bill de Blasio wanted America to know that when it comes to changing the way the police treat black people, he gets it. | Mayor Bill de Blasio wanted America to know that when it comes to changing the way the police treat black people, he gets it. |
| To drive the point home, Mr. de Blasio, who’s splitting his time between running New York and running for president, told the country about Dante, his son whom he raised with his wife, Chirlane McCray, who is black. | To drive the point home, Mr. de Blasio, who’s splitting his time between running New York and running for president, told the country about Dante, his son whom he raised with his wife, Chirlane McCray, who is black. |
| “For the last 21 years I have been raising a black son in America,” Mr. de Blasio, who is white, said at the Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night. “I have had to have very, very serious talks with my son, Dante, about how to protect himself on the streets of our city and all over our country, including how to deal with the fact that he has to take special caution because there have been too many tragedies between our young men and our police.” | “For the last 21 years I have been raising a black son in America,” Mr. de Blasio, who is white, said at the Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night. “I have had to have very, very serious talks with my son, Dante, about how to protect himself on the streets of our city and all over our country, including how to deal with the fact that he has to take special caution because there have been too many tragedies between our young men and our police.” |
| This is a story New Yorkers have heard before. When Mr. de Blasio first ran for mayor in 2013, his son, then a teenager, starred in a TV ad assuring voters that his dad understood the cost of the city’s stop-and-frisk policy, under which the police stopped hundreds of thousands of young black and Latino men. The ad was a sensation in New York and was credited with helping Mr. de Blasio win election. | This is a story New Yorkers have heard before. When Mr. de Blasio first ran for mayor in 2013, his son, then a teenager, starred in a TV ad assuring voters that his dad understood the cost of the city’s stop-and-frisk policy, under which the police stopped hundreds of thousands of young black and Latino men. The ad was a sensation in New York and was credited with helping Mr. de Blasio win election. |
| Despite the passion he showed in the debate, whatever insights Mr. de Blasio has gained as a father haven’t always translated into police reform. | Despite the passion he showed in the debate, whatever insights Mr. de Blasio has gained as a father haven’t always translated into police reform. |
| To illustrate the point, the city’s Department of Investigation released a report on Wednesday showing that the New York Police Department hadn’t substantiated a single one of the public’s 2,495 complaints of biased policing since 2014, when it started specifically tracking such complaints. | To illustrate the point, the city’s Department of Investigation released a report on Wednesday showing that the New York Police Department hadn’t substantiated a single one of the public’s 2,495 complaints of biased policing since 2014, when it started specifically tracking such complaints. |
| The Police Department’s attitude toward tracking and addressing biased policing is specious. It does not consider racist slurs on their own to be evidence of bias that needs to be investigated, according to the report. If someone who complained that he was racially insulted during an arrest later pleaded guilty to a crime in the case, the police stopped investigating the complaint. | |
| The Department of Investigation recommended that the police investigate any allegations of offensive language used by officers against the public as an issue of biased policing. | The Department of Investigation recommended that the police investigate any allegations of offensive language used by officers against the public as an issue of biased policing. |
| In a statement, the Police Department said complaints of biased policing in the first five months of this year were down by a third compared with the same period last year, from 329 complaints in 2018 to 220 complaints in 2019. While the Police Department itself substantiated no complaints of bias, the department’s spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Phillip Walzak, said it had meted out discipline in 49 cases in which the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent agency that investigates misconduct, found that officers had used offensive language. Mr. Walzak said the Police Department would submit an official response to the Department of Investigation’s report in the 90-day window in which it is required to do so. | In a statement, the Police Department said complaints of biased policing in the first five months of this year were down by a third compared with the same period last year, from 329 complaints in 2018 to 220 complaints in 2019. While the Police Department itself substantiated no complaints of bias, the department’s spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Phillip Walzak, said it had meted out discipline in 49 cases in which the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent agency that investigates misconduct, found that officers had used offensive language. Mr. Walzak said the Police Department would submit an official response to the Department of Investigation’s report in the 90-day window in which it is required to do so. |
| Mr. de Blasio has made progress. He and the Police Department deserve credit for continuing to bring down the number of police stops in recent years while still reducing crime. The department has also adopted body-worn cameras for officers, and begun anti-bias training for the entire force. | Mr. de Blasio has made progress. He and the Police Department deserve credit for continuing to bring down the number of police stops in recent years while still reducing crime. The department has also adopted body-worn cameras for officers, and begun anti-bias training for the entire force. |
| But, as this report shows, the mayor is far from done delivering the police reforms and accountability he promised in his 2013 campaign. He can keep working at it, when he isn’t on the campaign trail. | But, as this report shows, the mayor is far from done delivering the police reforms and accountability he promised in his 2013 campaign. He can keep working at it, when he isn’t on the campaign trail. |
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