Critics Say Overhaul of NYPD's "Operation Impact" is Coming Too Slowly
Officer Peter Liang and his partner Shaun Landau had both been on the force for less than 18 months when their patrol of a public housing stairwell ended with the death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley last Thursday night. They were part of "Operation Impact," which sends large numbers of freshly minted cops into high-crime areas. It has been a rite of passage at the NYPD for more than a decade.
Almost a year ago, Police Commissioner William Bratton pledged to reform the controversial policy by restoring greater supervision by veteran officers. Following Gurley's death, Bratton said the pair had been deployed as an overtime detail.
That explanation did not satisfy Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who said reform has not come fast enough.
"Those actions is not something that rookie officers should participate in," Adams said.
He was once an officer who patrolled public housing, in the Fort Greene area. Adams said it can be scary in those stairwells, and young officers need a lot of training, and they need to work closely with seasoned supervisors. He also says officers need to realize people socialize in those stairwells, and kids use them to get up to the roof to hang out and play.
"You must enter that premises with the understanding that any given time you may be startled" Adams said.
Over the past year, the NYPD has been phasing in reforms and increasing the frequency of rookie-veteran collaboration. City Councilman Jumaane Williams, a frequent critic of the police, said whether last Thursday's patrol was the exception or the rule, the time for full reform is past due.
"It's actually unfair to those police officers who are put in there without the proper training and without the proper supervision," he said. "And it's also obviously unfair to the community that they're policing."
Officer Liang has been placed on modified duty, while the police department's Internal Affairs Bureau and Brooklyn District Attorney's office investigate.
