Comprehensive annual report will lead to greater oversight on the department’s use of deadly force

CITY HALL – At today’s Stated Council meeting, the New York City Council will vote on legislation that will increase NYPD’s reporting requirements when one of their officers discharges a firearm.

IMPROVED FIREARM DISCHARGE REPORTING
The legislation will require the NYPD to submit an annual report to the Council detailing:

the circumstances surrounding incidents where officers fire their weapons;
a precinct by precinct and borough by borough breakdown of incidents;
the reason for the firearm discharge (i.e. – accidental, adversarial, etc.);
the race, gender and age of any individual engaged in adversarial conflict with an officer or third party that results in a firearms discharge.
The data will be presented in a manner that facilitates comprehensive analysis and will allow the Council to track the NYPD’s activities year to year. It will detail the number of shots fired and any casualties that result from the incidents.

In earlier reports, the NYPD was not required to disclose the biographical information of individuals involved in police shooting incidents. They were also not required to submit firearm discharge data to the Council, making oversight of their firearms discharge practices very difficult.

“If the Council is going to have true oversight authority over the NYPD, then we need all the critical information we can get at our disposal,” said Public Safety Chair Peter Vallone Jr. “Knowing the entire story behind each and every firearm discharge will not only allow us to judge the conduct of our officers, it will also give us the perspective we need to make changes that will make the best police department in the country even better.”

“The more we know about the NYPD’s use of deadly force, the more we can make sure it’s used responsibly,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “The NYPD is by far the model for law enforcement agencies around the country. But when it comes to the safety of our citizens, we should always be looking for ways to improve. This additional information will give us the insight we need to make those improvements.”