NYPD department of investigations released report on George Floyd Protests response “The problems went beyond poor judgment or misconduct by some individual officers”

New York City’s Department of Investigation found “several deficiencies” in the NYPD’s response to summer protests over the murder of George Floyd. They put out 20 recommendations to how the police department responds to protests.

“The problems went beyond poor judgment or misconduct by some individual officers,” the city’s Department of Investigation found

“DOI’s investigation found: NYPD lacked a clearly defined strategy to respond to the protests; used “disorder control” tactics that may have provoked confrontations between police/protestors” stated report, “NYPD deployed officers who lacked sufficient — or sufficiently recent — training on policing protests. Many had not received training since the police academy.”

“NYPD’s use of force on protesters — encirclement (commonly called “kettling”), mass arrests, baton and pepper spray use, and other tactics — reflected a failure to calibrate an appropriate balance between valid public safety or officer safety interests and the rights of protesters to assemble and express their views,” said the report

“In sum, the scope and nature of the Floyd protests posed several challenges to NYPD’s ability to respond, raised questions about the legitimacy of that response, and revealed some shortcomings in the NYPD’s approach and preparedness for policing First Amendment protected protest activity,” the report’s conclusion says. “DOI’s investigation identified several deficiencies in NYPD’s policing of the Floyd protests, including its planning, strategy, tactics and enforcement, intelligence use, training, use of community affairs, and public communication. NYPD should
pursue reform in these areas.”

NEW YORK (NYC Mayor’s Office) – Mayor de Blasio today released a video message to New Yorkers supporting the findings and recommendations of the Department of Investigation’s report on the NYPD’s response to New York City protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. In late May, Mayor de Blasio directed the DOI to conduct an independent review of the protest response.



“It’s a season of reflection right now, that’s what the holidays are.” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in the video. “I read this report, and I agree with it. I agree with its analysis and I agree with its recommendations, because it makes very clear we got to do something different, and we got to do something better.”

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea released a statement:
“In general terms the report captured the difficult period that took place in May/June of 2020 and presents 20 logical and thoughtful recommendations that I intend to incorporate into our future policy and training,” Shea said.

Read DOI’s Report and more than 20 recommendations here: https://t.co/GyaBn4hhyE