NYC Mayor Eric Adams vetoes controversial city council bill that would have forced NYPD to track every police stop

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has come under fire after vetoing a city council bill that would have required police officers in the city to document every "investigative encounter," according to Fox News Digital.

Adams spoke at a press conference on Friday, laying out the reasons why he believed vetoing the bill was the best course of action. Adams said Intro. 586-A, or the "How Many Stops Act," could dramatically decrease the response times of the NYPD. He went on to suggest that the bill would add millions of dollars in overtime to the NYPD budget if it went through.

"As young men, my brother and I were beaten by the police in the basement of a local precinct, but I turned my pain into purpose and joined the police force to effect change from within the system," Adams said in a statement.

"And, in my time as a police officer and throughout my career in public service, I have fought for transparency and against abusive policing tactics that targeted communities of color. While Intro. 586 has good intentions behind it, the bill is misguided and compromises our public safety."

"Our administration supports efforts to make law enforcement more transparent, more just, and more accountable, but this bill will handcuff our police by drowning officers in unnecessary paperwork that will saddle taxpayers with tens of millions of dollars in additional NYPD overtime each year, while simultaneously taking officers away from policing our streets and engaging with the community," he continued.

"That is why I am vetoing this legislation today. I ask my colleagues in government to please work with our administration to improve public safety because New Yorkers want their police out on patrol — taking criminals off our streets and keeping them safe."

CBS News reported that public advocate Jumaane Williams disagrees with the mayor, saying that "even the language of using apparent gender and race comes from patrol guide. You can't use the word 'paperwork' when there's no paperwork. It's just verifiably a massive exaggeration and it's unbecoming of this mayor."

"Whatever the administration wants to believe, a Level 1 stop is, right now, without this bill, they're supposed to tag it under body-worn camera at the end of the shift. So the question is are they doing it now? If they're not, they have a lot of explaining to do."

Williams' reference to a Level 1 stop refers to a generally non-threatening encounter.

However, Adams invited every City Council member to tag along with the NYPD this week for a ride-along to see how the bill would be implemented. Williams said he would like to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I think it's a good idea to be on the ground and see what's happening. That won't affect the bill," Williams said.

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