Lander, Williams to Introduce NYPD Oversight Bill

Councilman Brad Lander, along with Councilman Jumaane Williams, will on Wednesday introduce legislation calling for increased oversight of the NYPD. 

In March, Lander, D-Park Slope, calling for the appointment of an Inspector General, which he said would provide needed oversight of the NYPD. 

"The NYPD -- despite its size and operations -- stands alone among major American police departments for lacking any meaningful independent oversight," he said, adding that the police departments in L.A., Chicago and Philadelphia all have independent bodies with subpoena power. 

Specifically, Lander took issue with the department's counterterrorism practices, saying police investigations were targeted toward Muslim organizations without concrete leads. 

"Targeting specific communities breaks down the bonds of trust needed for good intelligence," he said. "The confidence that government operatives are not spying on us is a real part of what makes us different from a dictatorship."

A press conference will be held on Wednesday on the steps of City Hall at 12 p.m.