City Councilmember Yusef Salaam — one of the exonerated Central Park Five who was elected last year decades after he was wrongfully arrested by the NYPD — said he was stopped by police Friday as the NYPD pushes back against a bill that would require more transparency on police stops.
“Last night, while driving with my wife and children and listening in to a call with my Council colleagues on speakerphone, I was pulled over by an NYPD officer in my beloved Village of Harlem within the 28th Precinct,” Salaam said in a statement. “I introduced myself as Councilman Yusef Salaam, and subsequently asked the officer why I was pulled over. Instead of answering my question, the officer stated, ‘We’re done here,’ and proceeded to walk away.”
Salaam, the Council’s public safety chair, has become a focal point in an ongoing political spat between Mayor Eric Adams and the Council over a police reporting bill he supports that would require officers to publicly disclose details on all investigatory stops with civilians, including details on race. The bill would require officers to document and disclose every “investigatory” stop it makes with civilians and is designed to gather data on just the type of interaction Salaam said he was subject to Friday. The mayor, a former police officer, vetoed the bill and the NYPD has voiced its strong opposition.
“The fact that the officer did not provide a rationale for the stop … calls into question how the NYPD justifies its stops of New Yorkers and highlights the need for greater transparency to ensure they are constitutional,” Salaam’s statement reads.
Spokespeople for the NYPD and mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Salaam had previously agreed to participate in a ride-along with officers on Saturday evening as tensions have mounted between the mayor. He said in a statement Saturday afternoon that he would no longer be participating.
Mayor Adams is scheduled to accompany officers in…
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