New York Attorney General Leticia James on Monday announced she was launching an investigation into the NYPD for allegedly targeting communities of color when it comes to policing fare evasion.
James is asking the department for data on the number of arrests and summonses, broken down by race, age, and subway station, officers assigned to each station, and more information on its fare evasion policies.
James also wants to see documentation of the city police department's directives for its officers, its training practices, and any agreements it has with the MTA when it comes to fare enforcement.
"We've all read the stories and seen the disturbing videos of men, women, and children being harassed, dragged away, and arrested by officers in our city's subway system, which is why we are launching an investigation into this deeply troublesome conduct," James's office said in a statement. "If groups of New Yorkers have been unfairly targeted because of the color of their skin, my office will not hesitate to take legal action."
According to the attorney general's office, black and Hispanic New Yorkers received almost 70 percent of fare evasion summonses between October 2017 and June 2019.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former police officer, called James's investigation "responsible and responsive," adding, "As someone who policed this city above ground and below, I know without question that we can make this city safer and do so without leaving people in disgrace."
The attorney general's request comes after controversy in recent months over the NYPD's crackdown on fare evasion, such as in October, when police were seen on video storming into a subway car in Brooklyn with guns drawn. The police thought a young man in the car was armed, but no weapon was found. The 19-year-old was charged with fare evasion.
Recently, a group of transit police officers filed a lawsuit saying their commander in Brooklyn pressured them to go after black and Hispanic commuters for low-level subway crimes.
In a statement, the NYPD defended its fare evasion policing. "The NYPD's transit officers patrol day and night to keep six million daily riders safe and enforce the law fairly and equally without consideration of race or ethnicity," a spokesperson said.
During his weekly "Mondays with the Mayor" segment on Inside City Hall, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would cooperate.
"The attorney general's asking an important question, and we'll certainly work with her. We want to make sure everything's fair. That's the whole idea of what we've been trying to do these last six years: change the nature of policing, to make sure it’s connected to our communities, neighborhood policing, much more communication between our officers and our residents. We want it to be fair," de Blasio said.
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