Res 0094-2022

By The Public Advocate (Mr. Williams) and Council Members Brewer, Riley, Stevens, Restler and Sanchez Whereas, In June 2019, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to hire 500 additional Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) police officers to patrol New York City's subway system; and Whereas, In December 2019, the MTA board approved the Governor's plan, allocating an estimated $250 million over four years to expand the MTA's police force by 64 percent to purportedly combat crime, fare evasion, and the system's homelessness population; and Whereas, The New York Police Department (NYPD) has equipped all uniformed patrol officers with body-worn cameras to record their interactions with community residents; and Whereas, MTA police are not members of the NYPD, and are not required to wear body-worn cameras; and Whereas, Research from Arizona State University shows officers with body-worn cameras have fewer complaints lodged against them; and Whereas, A study conducted with Rialto Police Department in California shows decreases in civilian complaints lodged against officers wearing body-worn camera and decreases in use-of-force incidents by the police; and Whereas, A1552 introduced by Assemblymember Karines Reyes, would require MTA police to wear body-worn cameras and directs the chief of the MTA Police Department to establish rules and regulations pertaining to body-worn cameras; and Whereas, The use of body-worn cameras would increase transparency and accountability, which can help improve law enforcement legitimacy at a time when communities lack trust and confidence in law enforcement; and Whereas, The use of body-worn cameras also offer the opportunity to improve training as law enforcement officials can assess police activities and behaviors captured by body-worn cameras; and now, therefore be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A1552, which would require MTA police officers to wear body-worn cameras Session 12 KMD LS #3481 3/14/2022 Session 11 KMD LS12753 Res. No. 1237-2020