Adams Vows Veto Of NYPD Police Report Reform Bill

NEW YORK CITY — NYPD cops could soon be required to file police reports on all low-level stops they make — a reform that advocates call "common sense" but has drawn the ire of Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams over the weekend vowed to veto the "How Many Stops Act" that faces an upcoming City Council vote.

He made this promise during an interview with CBS New York reporter Marcia Kramer, who inaccurately described the bill as requiring police to "file a report" if a tourist asks for directions.

"This is a real frightening way to try to govern a city like New York," Adams said.

"There's no way I will sign this bill into law."

The mayor's promise came amid an uproar over the bill, in which critics argued it would saddle NYPD officers with more paperwork. A New York Post headline proclaimed it would require cops to "record ALL encounters with public — even if they just ask for directions."

But advocates — chief among them Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who co-sponsored one bill in the package — point out the bills' text shows that's simply not the case.

The How Many Stops Act is designed to give an idea of whom the NYPD stops on a daily basis, a key way to stop the abuses of practices such as stop-and-frisk, Williams said.

"The How Many Stops Act is designed to prevent these abuses from returning by requiring reporting on investigatory stops – like questioning someone related to a suspected crime," he said in a statement.

"It simply does not require reporting on every interaction, like casual conversation or asking for directions. Nor does it require recording of personal information like name and address in those interactions. This is a common sense way to get information about whether and how policing reforms are being implemented on the ground in our communities."

A fact sheet released by Williams notes it only requires reporting on what the NYPD calls Level 1 and 2 investigative encounters.

"Saying hello, giving directions, and other casual conversations are explicitly excluded," the sheet states. "NYPD training materials, the NYPD Patrol Guide, and the bill’s language make it clear: casual interactions do not constitute Level 1 encounters."

Williams argued the NYPD's technological capabilities will make it easy to simply report those encounters electronically.

"Whatever the fearmongering has fabricated, the reality is that this bill, crafted with NYPD input, merely requires sharing basic data on the number and nature of law enforcement stops," he said.