NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh) says now is the time to transform the relationship between New York City’s police and its minority communities.
De Blasio sat between Police Commissioner William Bratton and the Rev. Al Sharpton Thursday at a City Hall talk on how to reform the NYPD.
The discussion was prompted by this month’s in-custody death of Eric Garner on Staten Island.
Partial video of the 43-year-old’s arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes shows him being placed in an apparent chokehold. That’s prohibited by NYPD policy.
Bratton said he’s re-doing how officers are trained to use force. Sharpton said the officers involved should be criminally charged to send a message.
De Blasio urged patience and dialogue.
The exact cause of Garner’s death hasn’t yet been determined. Prosecutors are investigating.
