NYPD brutality during the protests that swept the city has heightened tensions and undermined public confidence in the police’s ability to protect the rights of citizens
That was the conclusion reached by the Department of Investigation, which has taken on New York’s security forces after the riots over the murder of black repeat offender George Floyd.
According to the department’s report, the police tactics “reflected a failure to calibrate an appropriate balance between actual public safety and ensuring protesters’ right to assemble and express their views.”
That said, NYPD aggression during the protests was not limited to the actions of individual officers who “used excessive force and abused their authority.”
“The NYPD as an institution made a number of key mistakes or omissions that likely heightened tensions and the potential for violence, and certainly contributed to the public perception that the department was suppressing rather than promoting legitimate assembly and First Amendment expression”, – said Margaret Garnett of the US Department of Interior.
As the investigation revealed, the protests took New York law enforcement officials by surprise. At first, too few police officers were deployed. Then, when the protests turned into pogroms, the situation changed. However, the police were unable to deal with the vandalism and looting and used force against the protesters.