Gov. Cuomo aims to pass police reform agenda after George Floyd protests

The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

The New York State Legislature is considering a police reform agenda that would make police disciplinary records more transparent and would restrict police from using chokeholds during arrests, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday. 

The “Say Their Name” reform agenda would also make race-based false 911 calls a hate crime and demand the attorney general act as an independent prosecutor when police officers face murder charges. Cuomo will pass the agenda sometime next week, he said at a press briefing. 

The governor’s agenda follows a week of worldwide protests in response to George Floyd’s alleged murder on May 25 in Minneapolis. Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter for the killing of Floyd. Three other officers present during Floyd’s killing have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.

“Mr. Floyd is just the last name on a very long list,” Cuomo said at a press briefing. “People are saying enough is enough.”

Police officers’ prior disciplinary records should be public knowledge, Cuomo said. 

Civil Rights Law 50-a currently protects the performance reviews of police officers, firefighters and corrections officers in New York state from being released. Cuomo has said he would support a reform of 50-a, and protesters in Syracuse have echoed statewide calls for repealing or reforming the law in protests this week.

“Reform works for everyone’s interest here,” Cuomo said. “You have to heal the police-community relationship, for the sake of the police and the sake of the community.”