NYPD video about NYC Council low-level stops bill draws ire from Mayor Adams’ critics

A video posted to social media by the NYPD is raising hackles about the accuracy of what it depicts and questions over whether the Police Department should be weighing in about pending legislation now awaiting Mayor Adams’ approval.

The video, which was posted to the NYPD’s X account, depicts some of the perceived — but disputed — potential impacts of the How Many Stops Act, a bill approved in the City Council with a veto-proof majority in December.

The bill would require that the NYPD record the demographic information of people whom officers question as part of low-level police interactions. It does not describe exactly how the NYPD would do that, but backers of the bill say the intent is for officers to enter the data into their department-issued cell phones while on their beat. Adams has not yet said whether he intends to veto the bill.

Read more: What would NYC Council’s ‘How Many Stops Act’ actually do?

“This change will further put pressure on already strained NYPD manpower and community relations,” the video’s narrator intones solemnly.

The video goes on to depict a dramatic “simulation” in which a female NYPD officer interviews people to help a mother find her missing child.

“Officers already have to return early to the stationhouse to log onto a computer and categorize the recording of each encounter with the public,” the narrator says as the officer is shown flipping through a notepad and entering info into a desktop. “The new bill adds even more administrative work on top of that. Every additional piece of paperwork ties up your NYPD officers.”

Adams has publicly maintained a stance similar to the one depicted in the video — one that proponents of the bill have criticized as irresponsible.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is one of those critics, and on Tuesday he slammed the new video as an example of just what the mayor is saying he’s against — wasting the NYPD’s valuable time.

“This bill isn’t putting ‘paperwork’ over police work, this is part of police work. The administration which says it doesn’t have the time or resources to do this basic reporting — in line with what the patrol guide already requires — seems to have plenty of time to put together a video designed to mislead the public about what our bill actually does and the need for transparency in policing,” Williams said in a statement to the Daily News. “New Yorkers need to be able to trust law enforcement, and disingenuous actions like this undermine that trust.”

Others pointed to the video as a rare example of a city agency opining about pending legislation.

One Council source said veteran staffers on the lawmaking body could not recall an instance where an agency used city resources to actively oppose a bill approved by the Council.

“It’s unfortunate the mayor’s administration chose to waste police resources to spread political misinformation and take NYPD away from its core responsibilities to the public,” a Council spokesman said. “The truth is that agencies determine how they implement laws, and it is up to Mayor Adams and NYPD brass whether to make this relatively easy for officers or unnecessarily difficult. We have been clear that they should make it simple for officers.”

The NYPD and a spokesman for Mayor Adams declined to say how much it cost to produce or whether the department had made previously made any other videos about pending legislation in the past.

“The video speaks for itself,” an NYPD spokesman said.

Chauvet Bishop, a spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform, agreed — but offered a different take on the video then what was most likely intended.

“It’s troubling and telling that the NYPD is putting its time, money, and resources into creating inaccurate and misleading propaganda to intentionally shield itself from basic transparency,” Bishop said. “The reality is, especially for New Yorkers of color, all police stops are disruptive, scary, and could easily escalate to abuse and brutality. Racial profiling and police harassment are no less likely in what the NYPD would deem to be lower-level encounters.”

Bishop went on to describe the How Many Stops Act as an “easy-to-implement, essential step” toward transparency and accountability.