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At the conclusion of his daily COVID-19 briefing on Friday, June 12 in Manhattan, Cuomo signed a police reform package that he dubbed the “Say Their Name Agenda.”
Flanked by Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Rev. Al Sharpton, Cuomo signed the legislation into law that includes the ban of chokeholds by police.
The package also calls for the repeal of Section 50a of the Civil Rights law, which will include more transparency of police disciplinary records.
The state attorney general will now be appointed as a special prosecutor for police-related incidents, and anyone making false race-based 911 reports may be subjected to civil lawsuits.
“New York State is the progressive capital of this country. We never sit back and just say ‘we should just do what the rest of the nation should do.’ We show the nation what it should do,” Cuomo said. New York leads by example, and by getting it done ... we’re a state of action and this is us at our best.”
Citing the murders of minorities dating back to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Cuomo said that police reform is something that is “long overdue” and has been decades coming.
“The truth is that police reform is long overdue, and Mr. (George) Floyd’s murder is just the most recent murder,” Cuomo said. “This is not just about Mr. Floyd’s murder, it’s about being here before many, many times before.
“It is about a long list that has been happening all across this country, and we always make the same point that justice against minorities in America in the criminal justice system is unjust,” he continued. “Today is about saying ‘enough is enough.’”
Stewart-Cousins, who, along with Heastie, spearheaded the legislation that was signed into law, said that the new reform “isn’t a cure, but it’s the beginning of a chance to bring justice to a system that’s long been unjust.”
Heastie, who said he has had negative police interactions both growing up and during his time as Assembly Speaker, echoed Cuomo’s words in saying “enough is enough.”
“Growing up as a young black man, at times I had not so positive interactions with police. I’ve had some as speaker though I didn’t speak up and let them know I was the speaker,” he said. “I heard the stories growing up, and as a black man, I felt that could be me, and I think that’s why this is really starting to hit the hearts of all the people (protesting).
“Enough is enough, is enough, is enough,” he added. “I’m happy that we are here where we are today, but there’s still so much work to do.”
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