Cops Should Tell NYers Why They're Stopping Them, Mayor Says

HARLEM, NY — It's a "picture perfect" police stop, but also an example of a law that needs to be changed so it never happens again, says Mayor Eric Adams in a Monday radio interview about a high-profile police encounter with a Harlem lawmaker.

The mayor described the Harlem police stop of City Council Member and member of the exonerated Central Park Five Yusef Salaam — which has become a sort-of Rorschach test for many New Yorkers — as epitomizing both what we should expect from the nation's largest police force, and something that needs change.

Salaam was stopped Friday night by an officer from the 26 Precinct as he drove with his family for having tinted windows, according to an unusually quickly-released police report.

Salaam identifies himself — as seen in police body cam footage also released in an unusually expeditious manner — and the officer ceases the vehicle stop without further explanation.

"Can you tell me why I was pulled over?" Salaam asks as the officer walks away, according to a recording first shared by the New York Times.

"Take care, sir," the officer replies, without offering any rationale behind the stop.

Since details of the exchange were released, Mayor Adams has repeatedly called the traffic stop a "picture perfect" example of how civilians and officers should interact with each other.

"Council Member Salaam was very polite, courteous," Adams told WNYC host Brian Lehrer in a rare appearance on the radio show which had hosted past mayors for regular listener call-in programs. "He interacted in a very calm manner to deescalate the situation," Adams continued, and used similar language to describe the officer's conduct.

"I think all of us should be proud of that interaction," the mayor said.

But all this was sidestepping Lehrer's question immediately prior to the Mayor's comments.

"The question that council members Salaam and others are asking is: if he asked the officer why he was pulled over and the officer wouldn't tell him, is that okay with you?" asked Lehrer.

Lehrer asked again if, since there is no legal requirement for officers to disclose why they have pulled a driver over, he would support changing the law to force officers to explain the reasoning behind a vehicular stop.

"I don't have a problem with that," Adams responded.

The high-profile police stop comes as the City Council prepares to override Adams' veto of two bills — a ban on solitary confinement in the city's jails and another requiring quick reporting of all low-level investigatory by officers.

Salaam said that he was on a conference call with other lawmakers, City Council workers and lawyers during the police stop, who all backed up Salaam's claim that he never received a reason as to why he was pulled over.

Ironically, according to Council Member Sandy Nurse, the call was regarding NYPD ride-alongs which the mayor had previously suggested to lawmakers so they could understand better the impact of the "How Many Stops" bill.

The day after the stop, Salaam announced in a statement that he would no longer be participating in a ride-along.

Others contended that Salaam had tried to use his title as a City Council member to evade a potential ticket and had lied about the interaction, with one Queens pol arguing he should be booted from his chairmanship on the Public Safety Committee — a high-profile position which oversees the NYPD.

Salaam, who as a teen served nearly seven years in prison for a high-profile crime he was later exonerated for, said he identified himself to the officer because, "We know that the danger is there every single time a Black man in particular gets behind the wheel of a car," he told the New York Times.