Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

James O'Neill

James O'Neill

  • The Challenges Facing Dermot Shea

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    Mayor de Blasio & PC Shea (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Just a week on the job, new NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea appeared at a solemn press conference in Brooklyn on Thursday, where he addressed the Jersey City murders of two people with ties to Williamsburg as well as the Manhattan murder of an 18-year-old Barnard student. The killings are emblematic of a rise in hate crimes, particularly anti-Semitic ones, and an increase this year in murders in New York City, though those numbers remain near record lows.

    He was in Williamsburg

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  • City Council to Examine Rollout of NYPD Body Camera Program

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    (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    The NYPD’s body-worn camera program is meant to provide transparency and accountability about policing activity in the city, particularly in cases of high-profile incidents of police officers’ use of force against civilians. But more than seven months after body cameras were rolled out to every uniformed patrol officer, there are many questions about how the cameras are used and about the policies that determine the release of the footage to the public and independent

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  • New NYPD Body Camera Footage Policy Raises Questions About Editing

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    (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The New York City Police Department recently issued the first protocols for the public release of footage from officers’ body-worn cameras, and with them the first explicit mention in departmental policy that the footage may be subject to editing and redaction prior to release.

    The policy raises new and recurring questions on the controversial topics of who controls the video and how it is handled, some of which the NYPD has responded to with information about

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  • NYPD Pledges Release of Body Camera Footage Policy This Month

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    De Blasio with a body camera (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor's Office)


    The New York City police department is set to finally publish its formal policy regarding the release of body-worn camera footage, nearly seven months after every uniformed patrol officer was equipped with a body camera. While the signature reform has been touted by Mayor Bill de Blasio as a means to improve policing and to provide transparency and accountability to the public, there have been no clear guidelines on how the department determines when to release footage to the public and the

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  • De Blasio Says He’s Reformed the NYPD and Improved Police-Community Relations. The Reality is Complicated.

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    Mayor de Blasio & members of the NYPD (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    “Fire Pantaleo!” the crowd chanted. “Fire Kizzy Adonis!”

    At an August 14 rally on the steps of City Hall, a crowd of advocates and elected officials called on Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill to take what they said was long overdue action against police officer misconduct. Daniel Pantaleo is, of course, the officer who used a banned chokehold while arresting Staten Island resident Eric Garner in 2014, leading to Garner’s death. He was on desk duty for

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