NAPO Washington Reports

NAPO Submits Statement for Hearing on Police Practices

September 19, 2019


NAPO attended the House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on policing practices this morning and submitted testimony for the official record. The origination of this hearing was a meeting between Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and the Rev. Al Sharpton on July 23, during when Chairman Nadler agreed to hold this “police misconduct” hearing in the wake of the Department of Justice clearing New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo of any federal criminal charges.

 The hearing focused on the role of the federal government in addressing concerns about unconstitutional practices, including “pattern and practice” investigations, racial profiling and use of force, enhancing police accountability, and in developing 21st century policing practices. The Democrats produced seven witnesses that proved that the hearing would be anything but fair and balanced and it largely left out the voice of rank-and-file law enforcement.  Witnesses include the Rev. Al Sharpton, Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, and James Blake, a former tennis pro who was mistakenly detained by New York City officers because he matched the description of a suspect, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Center for Policing Equity, and Ron Davis, former COPS Office Director and founding partner of 21st Century Policing LLC.  This hearing proved to be a thinly veiled, one-sided attack on rank-and-file law enforcement by the Democrats that did little to advance the conversation around policing in America. 

NAPO submitted testimony, which can be read here, stating our view on policing in America and supporting our nation’s officers who are out protecting our communities on a daily basis. 

Michael Palladino, President of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, Inc. of the NYPD, also submitted testimony for the hearing.  You can read his testimony here.

Please don’t hesitate to contact NAPO’s Director of Governmental Affairs, Andy Edmiston, at aedmiston@napo.org, if you have any questions about the hearing or the work NAPO is doing to protect the rights of rank-and-file law enforcement.

 

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