William Bratton was sworn in as New York Cityâ„¢s new police commissioner on Thursday.
Former New York Cityâ„¢s police commissioner William Bratton, who is criticized for his role in ramping up the use of stop-and-frisk tactics, was sworn in as the cityâ„¢s new police commissioner on Thursday.
Brattonâ„¢s second term at the helm of Americaâ„¢s largest police force comes as the cityâ„¢s new mayor Bill de Blasio had promised during his campaign that he would put an end to what he described as an era of abuse and racial discrimination in New Yorkâ„¢s police force.
Sara Flounders, the co-director of the International Action Center, told Press TV on Thursday that New Yorkers are now worried that their new mayor Å“will be new window-dressing.”
Flounders also said that US police will continue to preserve Å“their own position through constant war on both the population here and the population around the world regardless of whoâ„¢s elected in the office and the promises that they make.”
Bratton, whose first term at the helm of the New York City Police Department lasted from 1994 to 1996, is known for introducing Å“innovative and aggressive” policing policies that are still being employed by not only the NYPD but also all police departments around the US.
Police statistics in a 1996 report by Amnesty International showed that the number of civilians shot and killed by police during Brattonâ„¢s first year as NYPD commissioner rose to 31 from 23 the previous year. The data also showed that the number of civilian New Yorkers who were killed in police custody increased from 15 to 23 over the same period of time.
Bratton has also been criticized for ramping up the use of stop-and-frisk tactics which were ruled unconstitutional by US District Judge Shira Scheindlin in August.
Scheindlin described the tactics as a Å“policy of indirect racial profiling” that led the New York City police to routinely stop Å“blacks and Hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white.”
She did not halt the program but named a federal court monitor to implement reforms.
However, the city immediately appealed her ruling and a federal appeals court in November halted Scheindlinâ„¢s order which called for changes to the NYPDâ„¢s stop-and-frisk program.
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Source: Press TV