New York, NY – New York City’s mayor says now is the time to transform the relationship between police and minority residents.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) sat between Police Commissioner William Bratton and African-American community leader the Rev. Al Sharpton on Thursday at City Hall to talk about how to reform the NYPD.
The discussion was prompted by this month’s in-custody death of Eric Garner. Partial video of the 43-year-old’s arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes shows him being placed in an apparent chokehold. That’s prohibited by NYPD policy.
Bratton says he’s re-doing how officers are trained to use force. Sharpton says the officers involved should be criminally charged to send a message. The mayor urged patience and dialogue.
The exact cause of Garner’s death hasn’t been determined. Prosecutors are investigating.