New York City Council vows to override veto of How Many Stops Act

NEW YORK — As New York City Council members vow to override Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of the How Many Stops Act, the mayor called on every lawmaker to ride along with the NYPD this week to see the impact such legislation would have.

“The bill would leave taxpayers with tens of millions of dollars in NYPD overtime each year,” Adams said over the weekend.

If enacted, the act would require police to officially document any encounter they have with the public for investigative purposes. They’ll also have to log the apparent race, gender and age of the people they encounter.

• Read More: In defense of How Many Stops Act veto, Mayor Eric Adams invites City Council members to ride along with NYPD

Dr. Keith Taylor with John Jay College says the bill could created a huge administrative burden. He says councilmembers should instead only require officers who have received complaints to account for their interactions.

“The solution should be finely tuned. Surgery with a scalpel not with a hammer, because it’s a small percentage of officers causing a majority of the complaints,” he told CBS New York’s Christina Fan.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who co-sponsored the bill, believes the transparency will help put an end to biased policing.

“Even the language of using apparent gender and race comes from patrol guide. You can’t use the word ‘paperwork’ when there’s no paperwork, it’s just verifiably a massive exaggeration,” Williams said.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams says she is prepared to override the veto, arguing civilian complaints against officers are at their highest level in more than a decade.

To override the veto, council needs 34 votes. The bill previously passed with 35.