Excerpt:
Three Democratic New York state senators want an independent inspector to oversee the New York Police Department after what they called several abuses, including reports of widespread surveillance of Muslims and the crackdown on Occupy Wall Street protesters.
The bill follows stories by The Associated Press that detailed monitoring of Muslims, a tactic decried by some as religious profiling. The bill targets "stop-and-frisk, the treatment of the Occupy Wall Street protesters, and the wholesale surveillance of the Muslim community in New York City and other jurisdictions."
The measure from Sens. Kevin Parker, Eric Adams and Bill Perkins of New York City who are frequent critics of police dealings with minorities has little chance of passage, however. There is no Assembly counterpart, although on Friday Assemblyman Karim Camara said he will introduce one soon. The Senate bill lacks essential support by the Republican majority, which is close to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It also needs a request from city officials.